In my previous blog post, I talked about Christmas traditions. I mentioned going to my grandfather’s house on Christmas Eve. I didn’t make it to his house for this event the last year he was alive. It wasn’t for lack of trying.
My family and I lived in middle Tennessee at the time. My grandfather and the rest of my family lived 4 hours away in West Tennessee. My wife and kids had traveled ahead to be with family before I got there. I worked an hour west of where we lived. On my last day I was scheduled to work before Christmas, I had packed my truck so I could travel on to be with my family. That morning, it rained on me on the way to work with the rain turning to ice and snow later. On the stretch of Interstate 40 I traveled on the way to work, there was a big hill I would come down transitioning off of the Cumberland Plateau. Just as I made it to this hill, I had my first experience with significant black ice. The road curves as you come down this hill. I lost control for what seemed like miles coming down the hill. I remember sliding one way and then the other, regaining control for small moments. As I arrived at the Buffalo Valley exit, I slid by it, but lost all control at the point where the on-ramp meets back up with the interstate. I slid off the road and into a ditch. Luckily I missed the van in the ditch next to me that was lying on its side. A lady was crawling out of the door which was facing up. There was a look of terror on her face as my truck approached the ditch. As I sat in the ditch, I could hear the sound of vehicles on the highway behind me bouncing into each other. I found out later that a big truck and done a 180 degree spin just ahead of where I lost control. Later that morning, I did see this truck coming up the emergency lane back to the exit where I was to exit on the on-ramp.
There was a convenience store at this exit that was also a restaurant and hotel. Many of the people stuck on the road walked down to this place to make calls and get food. I walked down to this store with the family from the van. When we got to this store, I noticed that most of the people there were white. The family from the van was black. I also noticed that there was a variety of rebel flag banners, posters and license plates in this store. No one said anything inappropriate to this family but there was definitely a negative vibe. The family was arranging to spend the night at the hotel. I thought it was a bad idea. I imagined that they might never be heard from again.
Eventually, I went back to my truck and a wrecker service showed up pulling everyone out. When I asked the driver about the conditions on the road, he suggested that I go back home and stay there. That’s exactly what I did. I never made it to my grandfather’s house that year. My wife and kids were able to make a brief stop with him that year before they came home. I’m happy that someone from my immediate family was able to be at my grandfather’s house that last Christmas of that tradition. I’m also happy that my kids were able to spend their last Christmas morning in middle Tennessee in their own house.
