I’ll be going out on the Lady Washington tonight. She’s the replica that served as the Interceptor in the first Pirates of the Caribbean. I’m stoked, but a little nervous to eat today. I’ve never been sea sick in all the years I took the ferry in Alaska, went out on boats, and guided tours with Stan Stevens, but I’ve never been on a ship that wasn’t powered by diesel. I suspect it will feel very different. I’ve been fairly blessed with a high tolerance for motion, so let’s hope I don’t spend the sunset bent over the railing. YAY!
Last night was a girl’s night out with friends. I said goodbye to Niki as she’s headed back to Utah tomorrow. I got a call from my brother that disturbed me a lot, and when I left the party at a quarter to 1am I had no desire to go home. So I stopped to get gas, cranked up the tunes (Queen) and hit 90E in an attempt to find a patch of stars where the city glow wouldn’t ruin the sky.
Somewhere in the middle of the We are the Champions, I saw a car with flashers on and a person waving wildly, so I pulled over. Even as I stopped I thought, “bad idea, bad idea.” You –alone 2 am it could be anybody. Get back in your Jeep and keep going.
But even as the tirade of advice in my head washed over me, I stuck my knife in my pocket, checked my cell battery and walked into his headlights.
My reasoning did this: you’re alone on the freeway no one would see you get snatched…
But…But…But…
If I were the one wrecked on the side of the freeway, I would want anyone to pull over, PLUS I’m not a weenie, I’m pretty tough PLUS I believe that there are more good people than bad people PLUS the day that I don’t stop to help someone because I’m AFRIAD of all the horrible- yet- remote possibilities, I’m am no longer the person I want to be – THEN I am ruled by my fear of my own fellow creatures and I might as well be dead.
So I went the car. It was an Audi, and a very shaken up kid. Evidently his right front tire blew out and he skidded into a barrier before managing to pull over. The silver paint on the right side of his pretty car was all scratched up and the rim of the blow out was shattered. Still on guard I saw that he was okay, he was on the phone with the Audi roadside service. I waited until he could talk, and although he was taking it pretty well I could see the energy in his body as if he were trying not to shake. I said, “So you have someone on the way?” “Okay well I just stopped to see if you were okay.” I turned to leave and he said…
“Wait! You’re leaving?” he sounded scared. “Could you, I mean. Do you mind just hanging around for a little bit?”
He just turned 20, paced in front to the car a lot tugging on his shorts which were way to big, and told me about returning to school on the east coast in two days.
When he asked about me, I told him I’m a writer – in town for business, I travel and yadda yadda.
He said, “Wow. You’re young to have so much experience. I hope to have a lot of life experiences. I want to enjoy it all and learn.”
It took nearly 25 minutes for the police to arrive. I was given a terse dismissal by the officer and when I said goodbye to the kid, I don’t think I even got his name. He was a cutie and took his shock in stride. I think he’ll do just fine.
I drove home thinking about what he said, I actually DO have a lot of experiences. I never thought of it that way before. When he said, “You sound like you’re very independent.” And I’d replied. “I am and I love it.” I wasn’t demure in the least, I’m damn proud of where I’m at now in comparison to where I was a couple of years ago. It’s not glamorous like I thought it would be. Being a writer and living out of a sublet in a basement and keeping hours till four in the morning is not the “cool image” I thought I’d have, but seeing it through the eyes of someone else who doesn’t know me and has no judgment made me wonder for the first time, if I’m not actually closer to my dreams than I sometimes think…
As I drove back to through the city at 3am I could see a red sliver of moon while singing Who Wants to Live Forever, and had a ridiculous smile on my face.
3 Comments(+Add)
I’ve been on the Lady Washington. Years ago…I think I was 16 or 17. The crew sang pirate songs (“Sixty men on a dead man’s chest, yo ho ho and a bottle of ruuuum. Uh…that’s all I know.”)
And it’s where I learned how to coil rope.
It was fun.
Today we didn’t do glacier tours…we did “natural history” tours instead, through the Tatitlek Narrows. It was bad. We could feel the swells start as soon as we rounded the corner from Port Valdez into the Valdez Narrows.
Hey there.. you probably thought this wouldn’t happen, but this is the kid you kindly helped out that night.
I’m writing this before I hop on my plane to NY, and head back to school in CT. Just wanted to make sure that I showed my gratitude and appreciation for what you did. Although it may seem like a small thing, it takes a lot of verve and willpower to pull over in the middle of a dark interstate and help a stranger. I really appreciate what you did, as it lifted a mental load off of my shoulders to have someone to talk to when I was panicking. I too am glad that there are still caring people that exist, as flailing for help for an hour on the freeway had my hopes shot.
Anyways, i’m off to catch my flight. I enjoyed reading your blog entries, especially this one in particular (haha). Best of luck with the future and your career. It was nice meeting you!
-Roy
Roy,
Wow. I hope you’re okay, and your parents didn’t give you too much stress. I’m sure if they were upset it was simply because they love you and know it could have been worse. Thank you for stopping by my blog. It was very much a pleasure to spend part of my night with you, despite the circumstances. Hopefully, someday we’ll meet under better conditions. Good luck in school. Take care cutie!
-Athena