Braxton Citizens' News, Opinion

Off and running…

The new year is off and running. Only time will tell if it’s a good start or not. I am optimistic. It’s been busy for me. I have had several projects that needed attention. Unfortunately, I have many more that need attention, but will have to wait.

I had a nice outing with Tom Hunt on Saturday. We went to Fairmont to pick up a side by side that his mother had purchased. It was an adventure. Of course, while talking, I took a wrong turn which put us on the scenic route through downtown Fairmont. I am now much more familiar with Fairmont State University than I have ever been. In addition, on one of our two circles that the GPS took us on, the trailer we took to pick up the machine jumped off the ball and of course left us in a panic in the middle of the street. Fortunately for us, there wasn’t much traffic, and we were on the road again… It took two GPS devices to eventually get us back where we needed to be, but we made it.

We arrived at the house of the man who sold Mary the machine. He was at work, but his wife was expecting us. We loaded the machine on the trailer only to realize it was about an inch too long to close the tailgate… Nothing that ratchet straps and bungee cords couldn’t fix. As soon as we got home a friend told us that he was going to mention that if there was a problem with the length, we should back the machine on the trailer so the bed would stick out over the tongue of the trailer. Well, obviously, Tom and I didn’t think of that, so we did it the hard way.

We also hadn’t checked the air in the trailer tires, which is a big no, no. I can just hear our buddy Robin Parker saying “I told you so” from heaven. We found a service station, aired the tires and the remainder of our trip was rather uneventful.

I enjoyed talking and catching up with Tom. He has become a very successful young man. Much different than the snotty little kid he was when he, brother H, and my kids were growing up together.

When we finished our mission, Tom kind of apologized for all the trouble we had. I told him it certainly wasn’t his fault and besides… it was just like stepping back in time to one of the many similar escapades that his father and I had over the years. I enjoyed the trip and getting a little closer to my ole friend while enjoying his son’s company was a real bonus.