"When you travel down the highway," my father once told me, "there are a lot of dark corners. You might not see what's ahead. It could be foggy. Your vision may be clouded. Travel slowly, carefully. This way, it's easier to see what's ahead."
It was during a gig. My dad was on a little break. It was a bar/ pizza place in the middle of nowhere, out by the coast. I was home visiting from college. I thought it was marvelous that he was finally giving me some advice on how to succeed in life. I was all ears. As I hung on his every word, he continued,
"And when you get to Occidental Road, turn left."
*****
This reminds me of another story. Not so much a story, really, but when Grandma Ruth first heard the name of "Occidental Road," she laughed for a few minutes. As often happens when Grandma Ruth giggles uncontrollably for a few minutes, no one knew what the heck she was laughing about. Apparently, she had misheard "Occidental" as "Accidental".
"Oh-hoh!" says she. "Do they have a lot of Accidents on Accidental Road? Hm?"
*****
"And when you get to Accidental Road, turn left."
It's good to have some sort of directions for life, even if they were accidentally given.
And when you come to the fork in the road, take it.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute. These were supposed to be boring stories, but so far they have all been quite entertaining! I guess that's the hallmark of a great writer - she can take the most mundane subject and totally engage the reader.
Oh, Dad. I think you like this one because you play the sage!
ReplyDeleteI'm an objective party, not featuring in this story, and can verify it was not boring.
ReplyDeleteThat makes me happy.
ReplyDelete