Writer's Journey

WJ Ep 6: Car Trouble in the Middle of Iowa [from the Sketchbook]

[TheChamp-Sharing]

Subscribe: Android | RSS   

This week's episode is sponsored by Android Poems by Elliott Parker (my poetry pen name!) National Poetry Month continues.

An innovative poetry collection set in the 24th century, filled with androids, technology, and what it means to be human. Explore a rich futuristic world that could one day be our own.

Link: http://www.books2read.com/androidpoems

 

SHOW NOTES

 

Quick overview of this week's show:

  • How I had some car trouble in the middle of Iowa
  • A kind act from a stranger that I will never forget

TRANSCRIPT

 

[Cue Car trouble sounds] Have you ever had car trouble? Imagine that you're stuck on the side of the road with your hood up. It's a blazing hot summer day and you're dripping in sweat as you listen to your engine sputter. You smell like exhaust and oil, and you're frustrated at how much money this is all going to cost.

You feel despair as you glance at the street, watching car after car after car go by, wishing you could get some help. If only your car was one of those cars, if only you weren't the one sitting on the hot asphalt!

This happened to me and a friend back in 2011 when we had some car trouble. Fortunately, we weren't stuck on the road forever. Fortunately, someone did stop.

The gentleman who helped us out is the subject of my sketchbook today.

***

Hello, and welcome to episode 6 of the podcast.

As I mentioned in the intro, this week’s sketch is from all the way back in 2011.

It's funny how time blurs out little details, because I don't remember the specifics of this day other than that we had some car trouble.

Here's what I remember: a friend of mine and I were on the way to a place called Wesley Woods, which is a camp where a lot of college students work summer jobs. My friend worked there.

We stopped for snacks at a gas station on a county road, and when we turned the car back on, it didn't start.

We were stuck in the parking lot of this random gas station in the middle of rural Iowa with no idea what to do.

We were in our twenties, so in other words, pretty naive. We never thought to call roadside assistance or the insurance company, and we didn't have smartphones back then.

So we called a tow, and waited.

We watched a lot of cars pass by. In fact, there must have been hundreds, and the drivers all stared at us.

We were already late and off schedule. This didn't help. And, I should add that there we were of color. Imagine a black guy, a Filipina, and a Latina standing around in a gas station parking lot in the middle of nowhere. Not something you see in Iowa very much.

Just when all was lost, a red car pulled into the parking lot and saved the day.

***

We’re standing around, trying to figure out how we’re going to fix my friend’s car trouble when we hear tires crunch over a pothole.

A 90s red Lincoln Continental slides into the parking lot and curves around the pumps real smooth. The way it moves reminds me of a pimp rounding a corner in the hood. The car stops, then reverses into the parking spot next to us. The trunk pops open.

Out of the driver’s door comes a skinny black guy with a goatee. He's wearing a long white tank top and blue basketball shorts.

“Y’all need some help?” he asks.

We nod desperately.

He pulls a jumper cable from the trunk and goes to work. Within minutes the car is running.

“Could be the alternator,” he says. “But your real problem is your battery fluid. It's too low.”

We make small talk, try to pay him, buy him a bottle of soda, but he refuses.

He tells us he's a mechanic at a shop nearby. Only black guy in a county full of white people. He said he saw us and knew he had to stop. It's not every day that you see some pigment around here. He had just gotten some gas and was on the way to a Corvette show in the next county.

His name was Wesley.

And funny coincidence, we were going to Wesley Woods that day.

What I remember the most is just how many cars passed us by that day, and how he was the only one who stopped.

***

Quote of the week: “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Melody Beattie

 

CREDITS

Intro/Outro Music: “Kick. Push” by Ryan Little.

Sound Effects/Miscellaneous Credits:

Sound/Music Credits:Sound/Music Credits:Intro/Outro Music: “Kick. Push” by Ryan Little: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ryan_Little/~/kick_push

Hold My Hand (Ambient Mix) by Ars Sonor: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ars_Sonor/In_Search_of_Balance_Among_the_Shadows/07-Hold_My_Hand_Ambient_Mix_1984

RFX_Car Engine by willybilly1984 https://freesound.org/people/willybilly1984/sounds/345335/

Car Honk by sethlind https://freesound.org/people/sethlind/sounds/264993/

Cars passing in the night by snapalicious32 https://freesound.org/people/Snapalicious32/sounds/143925/

Pulls up and parks car by benwer https://freesound.org/people/benwer/sounds/260828/

Sound effects courtesy of Freesound.org.

 

Show's over, but it doesn't have to stop here.

If you liked this episode, you and me are probably kindred spirits.

Michael La Ronn

I write novels, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. My goal is to write interesting and well-written stories. I live with my wife in Des Moines, IA. Learn more about me.

Share
Published by
Michael La Ronn

Recent Posts

An Excerpt from Shadow Deal (The Good Necromancer, Book 1)

Introducing Lester Broussard: The Good Necromancer. A fast-paced urban fantasy series about a necromancer who…

2 years ago

Episode 84: What’s Old is New Again

In this episode I talk about: - How & why I bought a bunch of…

5 years ago

Episode 83: Laptops, Craptops, and a Topic Extravanganza!

In the LONGEST episode yet I talk about: My focus on NaNoWriMo on my sister…

5 years ago

Episode 82: Getting Some Time Back

In this episode, I talk about: How one small act every day for 30 days…

5 years ago

Episode 81: Bad Luck, Good Luck

In this episode I talk about: Recent teaching experience Some bad luck that hit me…

5 years ago

Episode 80: Writing, School, and PUPPY!

In this episode, I talk about: I got a new puppy!!! Status update on how…

5 years ago