Story time

I decided instead of complaining that it’s snowing AGAIN and I heard on the radio another 4-6″… That I would share a story instead.

So a couple years ago when I was still in college, my parents, especially my mother always got tickled at me because I had the ability to plan my schedule around being a full time student usually carrying 15-20 hrs (yes 18 is the max, yes I got to take 2 more credit hours one semester) and on more than one occasion I had my Fridays free, as in no classes.  So a lot of times I’d go ahead and pack up my car and come home for the weekend.  What can I say, I’m a farm girl and the city didn’t quite do it for me 🙂 although don’t get me wrong, I love cities too 🙂

So anyway I came home one Friday and my dad had taken off work to plant some seed in the cow pasture.  He had some errands he needed run in town and asked if I’d be willing.  I told him sure so he gave me the keys to his truck and his checkbook, dangerous, I know :).

Well as I was on my way home I had to pee (sorry TMI) BAD.  In fact I almost decided to stop at a gas station on my way.  (yes this part matters)  My parents live on an outter road to an interstate so you never know what you’ll see… And let me tell you… this topped it all!

I was about a mile from the house when I saw a van sitting on the side of the road with its 4-way flashers going.  Eh no big deal, people do that all the time, but this was different.  I saw something laying behind the van.  So I slowed down and paid attention and thought I saw a body.  What really screamed body to me was the white tennis shoes I thought I saw.  So I called my dad on his cell phone.  Definitely not a phone call you want to make or hear and I said, “I think I found a dead guy on the side of the road.”  I think his heart might have skipped a beat and he asked me where I was.  So I told him my location.

He said, “No, I saw that this morning on my way to work, it is just a sack of trash.”

I swore to him that it was a man though.  I saw the shoes.  So my irritated father agreed to come back and look with me.  He told me to come pick him up and take him back.

Well when we were headed back the van was gone so at first it took  me a few minutes to find the “body”.  When my dad saw it he said, that’s the sack of trash I saw this morning.  But I insisted that it wasn’t a sack of trash, it was a man.  So dad told me to pull along side the shoulder (remember we’re on the outter road and this was alongside the interstate but our side of the road).  He gave me his cell phone and said that if he gave me the signal, to call *55 (MO Hwy Patrol).  So he walked through the ditch and looked at me and said Call them Call them now.

So I called it in and reported it.  Then I had to sit and wait for the Hwy Patrol to show up.  Oh and I got the whole lot of them.  Hi-po’s, sheriff’s, ambulance, fire trucks, Crime Scene investigators… you name it, we got them ALL.  Now remember that TMI fact I told you about… yeah I still hadn’t done that.  I asked my dad if I had time to jump in a ditch and pee.  He laughed and said you better pee fast.  So I waited.

I filled out report after report and talked to all of them telling them what I saw which really was just my gut feeling I saw a man.  Later it turns out the “tennis shoes” I was seeing were actually his socks.  His shoes were no where to be found.

My mom was out of town for work so I had to call her on the phone and tell her the same thing I told my dad.  Yeah still no easier.  The Police wanted me to talk to a shrink but I told them I was fine.  I didn’t however sleep but about 2 hrs that night.  So anyway after an hour and 45 minutes, they finally let me leave.  And leave it to me, the first thing I told the Hi-po when he said I could leave was, Oh thank God I can go home and pee now.  My dad just laughed.

We had the interstate shut down to a crawl for hours too.  That Sunday in the paper I found out the man’s name.  He was from the local area and was headed home from visiting with his relatives.  His van broke down (get this) in front of my parents driveway and he got out to walk to find help.  He had been hit by a Semi truck about 10:30 the night before and I was the only one who questioned him and thought he was a dead man.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget that… And don’t ask me why I decided to share that particular story with you today, but there, a deeper look into the Me you’ve all come to know and love 🙂

Happy Friday… Now I’ll go back to sulking about the snow!