Story Telling
I got behind on my Jessica Sprague Class on journaling and am trying to catch up a little tonight. Not, to worry though, as we will be able to access the class notes and assignments long after the month is up. So, if I take a little longer than the month, I still will be able to finish.
The assignment for day 6 was to write store from our roots. Here is the one I chose to write.
Drive Across the States
I was just six years old and not expected to do much but be quiet and obey. Father was gone and mother had to take care of us on her own. There were four of us kids and I was third down. We were packing it all up and moving to Florida where mother was going to become a home missionary for Child Evangelism Fellowship. The household furniture and goods were packed up by the Mayflower Movers and moved on one of their huge trucks. Mother was going to drive us kids by herself to Florida pulling a little three wheel pop up camper for us to sleep in along the way.
Aunt Ethel decided that mother should have at least one other adult with her and said she was coming along. Aunt Ethel had diabetes and was a senior citizen, but she felt she was better than nothing and she had the freedom to come along. So, we set off to Florida from Washington State and had the trip of a lifetime.
We stopped at several places along the way. The Grand Canyon was one of them. I remember several incidents of that trip way back when. We also stopped and visited with Uncle Bob and his family in Texas.
One day, for some reason Mother pulled the car off the road for some reason. It might have been to discipline one of us kids or to check the trailer. I don’t truly remember. But, when she went to start the car up again, the car would not start. Well, not to worry, Mother had AAA. So, she walked back to a farmer’s house that we had passed along the road and gave AAA a call. When she got back to the car, she kept trying to get the car started. She changed gears and before the tow truck came, she was able to start the car. It seems that little Albert, just a baby in those days, had messed with the shifter while she was out of the car and had left the car out of gear.
Along the way we watched for Mayflower trucks to see if we could see our truck. We saw several trucks but there was no way to know if any of those trucks was the one carrying our furniture. We played the car license game and counted cows and several other games that children play on long trips. But, we still were out of sorts at times. But, Mother was a firm disciplinarian and we were required to behave no matter how bored we were.
The car we drove was a 1955 Plymouth and had this huge trunk that held all our clothes and other items. Three of us kids sat in the back seat while Albert and Aunt Ethel said in front while Mother drove. Mother was the only driver, as Aunt Ethel did not drive. In those days, cars were built for families and there was plenty of room. But, as the third child, I am sure I did not merit a window seat! But, Aunt Ethel liked to joke about Mother being able to drive 60 miles an hour and still whip the kids in the back seat one handed. When we got to Florida, Aunt Ethel took a bus back home to Washington State.
I don’t remember many of the details of that trip. Just those few incidents mentioned above stand out. But, this trip reinforced in me the idea that a woman with four children under 12 years old was not held down nor did adventure have to come in small pieces. As children we never thought we were having an exceptional life, but looking back, even before we went overseas to Guam when mother became a missionary there, we had adventures and experiences that most children did not get to have. I still am very fond of my AAA membership and will always remember how they were our peace of mind on that trip.