The previous day, Ron (Jack's ex) tried several stunts to force us to postpone leaving on the 2nd, all the way down to causing a scene at the courthouse in front of everyone.
He knew he wouldn't be going with us and his feelings were hurt. Still, he showed up at the courthouse a few minutes after I did. He post-dated the back of his title, and the clerk wouldn't accept it, even with his explanation. So, he wadded the title up, walked towards me and said, "Paul, this is for you.", and threw the title at me. It bounced off my forehead.
You can't possibly imagine what it took for me to continue standing in place. On any other day, I would've beat him stupid and he knew exactly what he was doing. That was one day of being tested which still surprises me, and I still can't believe how I just stood there, composed and only a few words came out....something along the lines of, "You'll have to come home sooner or later, you piece of shit bastard!" (which only added that much more fuel to the showdown in San Jose when he was allowed to pack one box and then leave)
In the meantime, the courthouse clerk came out from behind the counter and picked up the title. I told her it was Jack's name on the front (which it was), and that I needed to call him. Luckily, she remembered us skating when we were kids and agreed to let me call him and let her tell him what happened, and what needed to be done from there.
Even that didn't stop us from leaving. At approximately 2:10 PM on March 2, we left Union Grove and headed toward Memphis to get a room, then drive down to Tunica for a few hours before heading west the following morning.
Being in Memphis was temporarily good enough for me. I was out of Alabama and that's all I wanted.
Something to consider is how often you use the word 'never'. It's relevant. Here's how and why:
When the earthquake hit the San Fran bay area in 1989, I specifically said, "I'll NEVER live out there" (in front of several people). When a few former friends originally from Michigan had gotten under my skin, I specifically said, "I'll NEVER live up there" (again, in front of several people). Less than 10 years after making both statements, I ended up living in both places one right after the other. Strange how that works, but it made a believer out of me! Back to the subject....
We breezed through Arkansas, Oklahoma was COLD, etc, and then we eventually took a detour to see one of Jack's sisters who still lives in Albuquerque (except I stayed away....still don't understand why we came to that agreement), then went to Las Vegas (I'm definitely more of a Reno/Lake Tahoe kind of guy), through Hoover Dam, on to Grand Canyon, and back on interstate 40 to finish the easy part of the trip.
I think I will save the rest of this blog for the date when we actually arrived. That one shouldn't be missed.
I'm not sure about anyone else, but there always seems to be a lot going on in my life during the month of March and this year is indeed no exception at all. I'm moving again, but not like I was and certainly not with the best company I ever had. Yet, just like February 14, the GOOD memories are heart warming enough to keep me from being upset and they are once again brought to me by the man in the picture frame, only a few inches away from my fingers as I type this.
How I miss him, but how glad I am to have such incredibly good mental pictures of those days. Some may easily say I'm living off past glories and that's fine if they do. But apparently, they have no idea how much that past has everything to do with the fact that I have any kind of future.
I'm thankful, grateful, and at peace enough to speak the whole truth to the world without feeling a sting from it. The happiness is more than I could ever ask for, or expect.
And, I still know the way......
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