Twilight Zone Pink

Ray and I left Virginia on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful day. The temperatures were in the 50/60s. Lots of sun and just cool enough to be comfortable. We drove through the mountains and I mostly read and slept. I really enjoy my Kindle. I started reading “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown. I don’t take his writing literally, but it makes for good fiction suspense.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Charleston WV. The food was great. Ray ordered Chicken & Dumplings, fried okra, and macaroni & cheese. I had the children’s bowl of Chicken & Dumplings. They brought fresh biscuits and cornbread muffins. It was very good and the service was excellent. I bought some more sock monkeys for grand children. We got to mother’s house in Lexington KY about 9 p.m. I got the key from the neighbor, since mother was on her way back from Dallas.

My brother, Sonny and his wife, Pat, along with their son, Jeremy, and mother went to my niece, Heather’s home in Dallas for Thanksgiving. Heather is pregnant with her second baby. They moved into a new home this year and Heather has never had the family come for a holiday. So it worked out great for them all. I am sure that I will hear the rest of the story when we get back to Lexington.

Anyway, we waited around Monday until after 2 p.m. for them to finally get back. Mother was so anxious to see Buddy, she couldn’t wait to go get him. Buddy is her little Yorkie who she boarded at the Vets. We left by 2:30 p.m. and drove a long and winding road. That is where the “Twilight Zone” comes in. We were on the Bluegrass Parkway and relying on “George” (our Garmin GPS) to lead the way. At first the weather was great but as the evening progressed, it deteriorated immensely. It started to rain and then there was lightning, and then George led us to two lane roads. I felt that we were in a very bad situation. It was pouring down rain, the two-lane road had deep ditches on the side and there were times that it was difficult to see the white line on the side of the road. I thought to myself if we skidded off the road into one of those ditches, we might not be found for days. Then at some point, we went across the Mississippi River on a two-lane bridge. That was scary in the dark on a rainy night. I was expecting to see Rod Serling’s face pop up at any time and say “ And now you have entered the Twilight Zone.” We got to a place called Sikeston MO and for some reason we circled it and came back to the same place we entered again. The GPS said we were at the Comfort Inn, but it was not there. We drove another half mile and came up behind it.

We unloaded the car and rode around looking for dinner. We couldn’t find anything, so we stopped at the Burger King in front of our motel (Comfort Inn and Suites). One of the employees was kind enough to direct us to Ruby Tuesday across the street, which even with direction, we had a hard time finding because it was on another street and the lighting was not very good. It was a beautiful Ruby Tuesday. There were lovely items on the walls and it was very clean. Even the bathroom was spotless. That says a lot to me. If a place has clean restrooms, then the kitchen is probably clean too. Ray ordered a huge burger and fries and I ordered broccoli and cheese soup. The waitress brought some garlic and cheese biscuits. They were really good. The whole meal was a pleasant experience. So if you are ever in Sikesville MO, Ruby Tuesday has good food.

We went back to the room and got ready for bed. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. I was exhausted. Sometimes George doesn’t take you the right way. It may be the shortest or the fastest way, but not the smart way. We are a little like George ourselves. We have the ability to follow the smart way when we let God be our co-pilot. I know that there were times last night that I asked for God to slacken the rain so we could see the road, and it seemed like every time I asked, He did. He is always there for us if we just ask for his help.

This morning was good, we got up and took our showers and got away from the hotel early because of the time change. The Comfort Inn in Sikeston has a wonderful breakfast that is included with the cost of the room. There was a waffle machine where I made a waffle and split it with Ray. I had some egg and a little cheese and a cup of coffee. Ray had a biscuit with SOS and an egg, sweet roll, and a cup of coffee. The little dining area was spotless. We empathized with some of the other couples there who had gone through the rain last night. Did I ever mention, I have never met a stranger? We were in the car by 9 a.m. and on the road. The overall experience at the Comfort Inn was very nice. It was clean and neat. We had two double beds so both of us go a good night’s sleep. We are driving through some dreary country right now. I think that is because most of the leaves have fallen from the trees and there is no sun today. At least it is a four lane road. It is 35 degrees and windy this morning. I am not used to this kind of cold and my fingers are hurting as I type.  

My rheumatoid arthritis seems to be getting worse, instead of better. Everything hurts this morning. My hands are the worse part but my sciatic nerve in my back may be causing some of my pain. Ray is having trouble with his right food. It swelled up yesterday. We found him some ibuprophen last night but it hasn’t helped much. I gave him a small prednisone pill, hoping that will help.

In the news this morning, I listened to the case of the young man in the Army that leaked all the classified information to Wikileakes. How dumb can any one person be? I know that when I worked for the Air Force Air Combat Command, if you were dumb enough to mishandle classified, you could be fired and if you intentionally gave it away, you could be fired or persecuted and sent to Federal Prison for Life. You could be persecuted and end up being executed for treason. This young man’s father was in the Army at one time and he was trying to get on his father’s good side by joining the Army. I just cannot imagine how disappointed his dad is in him now. I know that the frontal lobe sometimes doesn’t fully mature in some young men until they are around 25. I heard that he was gay and has been teased and bullied all his life. Such a shame that he couldn’t have been just a good kid, who was loved. All children need love.