I swung the beam of my flashlight over the wet grass looking for movement. Warm rain hit my bare arms in the darkness. There, stretched out across the feathery green blades, an earthworm raced for its hole. I quickly shifted the light beam to the side slowing the worm’s progress and with one swift grab it joined the others already in my bucket. My brother and I worked in tandem and our declarations of, “got one” filled the silence. It took no time to catch a dozen worms. I carried our containers inside the house and dumped the contents, now a slimy grass covered wriggling ball into Grandpa Hadsell’s worm bed. Tomorrow morning I’d feed them the coffee grounds that Mom would send to the cellar after cleaning the percolator.
The RV engine noises intensified as we neared our campground on the Outer Banks of NC. I put my mouth into odd shapes in an attempt to mimic the high engine whine that joined a sound like that of rattling chains. It was the best I could do for Bucky, who has lost the upper range of hearing. However, it didn’t require perfect hearing to feel the RV’s refusal to accelerate when climbing even the smallest of hills. I Googled the sounds and was given a plethora of possible engine problems. We had hoped to make it to Ocracoke at the end of the Outer Banks, but wisely decided to head home. We mapped a path north that would keep us off interstates. This worked well until we entered north western NJ. My impression of NJ as urban sprawl was forever changed as we wound up and down rolling hills dotted with cows and red roadside barns. This was much too beautiful to be NJ!! Unfortunately, the steep climbs strained the engine more than interstate travel had, so we made a dash to I86 with the hope of making headway. The flatter the road, the better we rolled. Our progress was short lived and near Peakskill, NY we retreated to the breakdown lane to wait for a wrecker.
One hour became three and we waited, called and waited some more. Each semi that passed rocked the RV on its tilted roadside perch. I’m not prone to motion sickness, but the repeated swaying had my stomach feeling queasy.
Peter Lu, with little regard for his own safety, walked against oncoming traffic lighting and setting flares. Almost immediately, these were hit in the rush of vehicles steadily approaching in both lanes. He motioned with his hands and hoped to intimidate them by taking video of registrations on his phone, but it did little to slow the flow. I expected at any moment to see Peter, in his fluorescent green jacket, fly through the air like Peter Pan.
Metal was moved, chains were attached and we were soon traveling down the highway no longer two vehicles, but joined as one. Our initial plan to be towed to the closest Walmart, the look of which had me laughing, and being towed to VT in the morning had evolved on the roadside. Peter’s work day was completed and on his suggestion, he'd tow us the 200+ miles home. We thought, why not? We were hooked on, he had all night to drive, he’d sleep in his sleeper in Middlebury and return to Peakskill in the morning.
I was surprised when we turned into a shopping center shortly after we hooked on. Was it Mc Donald’s, Bed Bath and Beyond or the Flaming Grill and Buffet that had caused our detour? We later regretted not taking Peter’s invitation to join him at the Flaming Grill when I saw his Facebook post of eating raw oysters and lobster while we ate Ritz and cheddar!
It was 9:00 and dark when I retreated to our bed at the rear of the RV. Before long, Bucky and the dog joined me and like Wynken, Blynken and Nod we fell asleep to the hum of the highway in our metal shoe.
The bright lights of the Ford dealership woke me. My phone said 2:00 am. I rolled over, petted the dog and felt the peaceful feeling that comes with being home. I wondered if Peter had slept well. He had decided to get fuel and sleep there. His most recent Facebook post showed him enjoying donuts in Fort Ann, NY headed to his home.
