TheBanyanTree: Riding in Cars With Boys, Part 2

[LaRose Karr]

Riding in Cars With Boys, Part 2 by LaRose Karr

My husband has a new friend.  His new friend has promised him a place to
hunt on private land anytime he wants in Arkansas.  Now since my husband
does not go hunting in Arkansas very often, this is a fantastic offer if he
ever should.

I told Larry I really wanted to go visit with the family who were stuck in
Denver at the hospital.  He hemmed and hawed around.  It wasn't that he
didn't want to do good but there were a couple obstacles we had to pass
first.  The first is the old high school competition/jealous phase.

Yes, this was an old classmate who said he wished he dated me, but we were
never serious about each other.  That was just a passing high school comment
I guess he felt compelled to confess.

I knew once Larry could get past his insecurities that he really would like
my old classmates.  He seemed nervous though, and he did the thing my
husband does very well.  He plays dumb to draw attention to himself.  So, we
talked about him all the way to Denver.  How he was reading a book I bought
as a reference guide about how to teach yourself grammer in 24 hours.

As I listened to my husband I was just blown away. He was so excited about
commas, periods, exclamation marks, semi-colons and the three dots.  I could
not for the life of me figure out what the three dots were...  I imagined
three dots on a keyboard, "there are no three dots," I said envisioning a
morph of the colon. "Oh yes there are!" he exclaimed.

My husband is a correctional officer and he has to write accurate but brief
reports.  Once I figured out what he meant by the three dots I told him they
were improper for the concise type of writing he needs to do.

At one point I even asked, "Larry why don't you know this stuff?  They
taught in elementary school and high school."  He said he was too busy
looking up girls skirts.  You know I think that's probably as good an
explanation as any.

When we get to the hospital, we are able to spend some time alone with the
husband of the woman who is so ill.  This was good. He was able to share
what an ordeal they'd been through, at one time even tearing up a little.
We listened.  I had brought along photo albums of my relatives and people we
went to high school with and he was happy to take up some time while
concentrating on other things.

I told my husband later that something happened on this day that I never
dreamed would happen.  Frank gave me a hug.  Frank never paid much attention
to me in high school.  We were in different circles.  He was in the popular
crowd and I was not.  Big huge gaping worlds apart.

His younger brother Don though was a different story.  Don was not in the
popular crowd, we were kindred spirits that way.  We always got along well
and had fun together.  I knew once Larry met him that he would like him.

Don was at his motel room when we arrived, and I talked to him briefly on
his cellphone.  He needed to shower before coming over.  This gave us plenty
of time to visit with his older brother.

Once Don arrived he wanted a hug.  Larry was engrossed in conversation with
his brother.  Don and I bent our heads together conspiring on a joke to play
on them.  Frank did not know that Larry was once a driller and this topic is
very important to the brothers who drill water wells.  Don wanted to play a
joke on his brother by springing on him casually that Larry was once a
driller for their rival company.

We decided to go out to our favorite restaurant in Denver to get the full
Brazilian treatment at Rodizios.  This has been a popular spot for us since
traveling to Brazil in 1998.  Once again I got to ride in Don's truck.  This
time I sat in the back so Larry could sit up front.  We drove by a dental
office where I used to work in the Capital Hill area and I told stories
related to inner city Denver.

I was surprised that Don was so interested.  He seems to be a very observant
guy.  He's changed since high school, more mature but still goofy and fun
with an outrageous sense of humor.  My husband, Don and I had a wonderful
time at the restaurant, speaking limited portuguese with the wait staff and
forcing Don to try Brazilian coffee, guarana, palm hearts, quail eggs and
other assorted foods.

He really did like this restaurant.  The only drawback was that his wife
could not attend with us.  We left the restaurant with eight minutes to
spare on the meter.  While driving along, I was giving directions in
downtown Denver.  Anyone who has ever driven there knows it's a mad house.

Larry and Don were talking about deer hunting, when Don said the most
outrageous thing... obviously it was so outrageous I am not writing it but
instead using those exciting three dots!  I laughed so hard I did not notice
he took a wrong turn and instead of going east, we were headed south.

He argued a bit with me that the street would take us to the hospital but I
knew it would not.  Finally got him to turn, not on a main thorough fare as
I wanted but on another street. I wasn't sure it would go through all the
way but he seemed insistent so I resolved to let him figure it out if it
didn't.

And this is where it felt like old times again...riding in trucks with boys!
I leaned forward so I was resting between Don and Larry on the arm rest.
Larry was giving directions and I said, "Don, don't listen to him, listen to
me!"

We got caught up on all the "well I didn't know that had happened in your
life" stories.  I was quite happy that Larry had gotten past his
insecurities and was able to open up to someone I knew would be his friend.

When we parted, we made sure we had cell numbers, and three hugs later we
said, "good-bye."  Larry has a new friend, I've been reunited with an old
one.  And God has once again shown me he is in total control of who he
brings into our lives and we may not see the big picture but there is
definitely a tapestry that is woven, and heart ties formed early in life are
strong, so strong that time and distance never separate us from the ones we
share our most imporant history, childhood.  We are very fortunate, as I was
this week to be reunited with a young man, now middle aged - who I can
conspiratorially joke with and have such a neat friendship.

We all take different roads.  We have regrets, we have wants, desires and
needs.  But sometimes if we are very lucky, the road comes full circle and
takes us home again for an afternoon, a day or a week and we can share hugs
and laughter even in the most dire circumstances with the end result being
that no time has passed, and the desire that we do not let life get so busy
we lose contact again.