Rattlesnake Road
12 X 18 ARCHIVAL MATTE PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT
MOUNTED IN ACID-FREE, WHITE, BEVELED 18 X 24 MATTING
LIMITED EDITION 1 OF 5
SHOT 05/2019, PRINTED 06/2023 (LIMITED EDITION OF 5)
There is a road I travel regularly. It's just a tiny stretch of road connecting Ronald Reagan Blvd. and HWY 195. I think a lot of people pass this spot just north of Georgetown to head to the hub where three interesting and completely different destinations await you, Florence and Temple, Waco and Dallas, or Georgetown and the web that is the Austin area.
When my Dad was in the hospital, a few days before he passed, I was driving by this spot. My van got stuck in the mud after I pulled over to call my brother to check on my Dad's condition. He was near the end of his long cancer journey. When I tried to pull out to head in to the hospital, the giant Ford Transit I was driving spun it wheels and turned into a stubborn donkey.
I sat there in the driver's seat and the tears just came. And they were only stopped by the sound of a large diesel truck puling in behind me. It was still raining a bit. A pepper-hair gentleman came up to my window wearing a ball cap, t-shirt, bluejeans, and boots and knocked. I wiped my face and rolled down the window. Without skipping a beat, in a kind Texas drawl, he assured me that I would be on my way in a minute. I offered to get out and he told me it really would just take a moment, no need to get out in the rain. I think he got a chain out of his truck bed and attached it to the front of his truck and then the the hitch on the back of my van. He came back to my window and asked me to put the van in neutral. He popped back to his truck and pulled the van back and to solid ground in a matter of seconds.
I forgot his name nearly immediately after I pulled out to head to the hospital, but I will always remember that instance. He didn't ask me what was wrong, he didn't pity me, he didn't make explain all my weird crying and bright red and swollen eyes. He just helped a person who needed help and went on his way. I know he's real and lives somewhere near me, but I'm quite sure he was placed in my path that day. When I got to the hospital, the news was grim and we took him home with hospice the next day, but I knew that we'd be okay, our family, because we would just help each other when we needed help.
Thanks, kind gentleman, wherever you are.
When my Dad was in the hospital, a few days before he passed, I was driving by this spot. My van got stuck in the mud after I pulled over to call my brother to check on my Dad's condition. He was near the end of his long cancer journey. When I tried to pull out to head in to the hospital, the giant Ford Transit I was driving spun it wheels and turned into a stubborn donkey.
I sat there in the driver's seat and the tears just came. And they were only stopped by the sound of a large diesel truck puling in behind me. It was still raining a bit. A pepper-hair gentleman came up to my window wearing a ball cap, t-shirt, bluejeans, and boots and knocked. I wiped my face and rolled down the window. Without skipping a beat, in a kind Texas drawl, he assured me that I would be on my way in a minute. I offered to get out and he told me it really would just take a moment, no need to get out in the rain. I think he got a chain out of his truck bed and attached it to the front of his truck and then the the hitch on the back of my van. He came back to my window and asked me to put the van in neutral. He popped back to his truck and pulled the van back and to solid ground in a matter of seconds.
I forgot his name nearly immediately after I pulled out to head to the hospital, but I will always remember that instance. He didn't ask me what was wrong, he didn't pity me, he didn't make explain all my weird crying and bright red and swollen eyes. He just helped a person who needed help and went on his way. I know he's real and lives somewhere near me, but I'm quite sure he was placed in my path that day. When I got to the hospital, the news was grim and we took him home with hospice the next day, but I knew that we'd be okay, our family, because we would just help each other when we needed help.
Thanks, kind gentleman, wherever you are.