Joel Anderson loved driving cars fast. You bet he did. So when his old man died and left him eleven thousand dollars, he took the money, went to the nearest Ford dealership and used it for a down payment on a brand new black Shelby Ford Mustang. He drove it out of the lot onto the freeway and hit the gas, making it to nearly a hundred miles an hour in eight seconds flat. He was in seventh heaven. For the next few months he took the Mustang out and raced it all over the seven county metro area. The most fun he had, however, was driving it on Interstate 494 during rush hour when he would weave in and out of traffic going as fast as he could go. At those times he felt he was invincible and he never even once came close to having a brush with the cops. All was right in Joel's world until his luck ran out one summer afternoon a few months after he'd purchased his car. It was the day he narrowly missed the rear end of an Oldsmobile driven by some old guy.
Simon Nicohols was seventy nine
years old and rapidly fading. His health was alright but it was just that he
was losing that spark of life that he normally relied on to keep him going. He
lived in a nice one bedroom apartment in the Lakeview Retirement Home in a west
metro suburb. His wife passed away two years ago. They had been married for
fifty five years and although he missed her terribly, he was trying to cope,
just as he knew she would have wanted him to do. His three daughters all lived
within an hour's drive from him and he saw them often enough to feel like he
was in touch with their lives. But it was his own frame of mind that he was
concerned about.
Simon had been a salesman for Toro,
a well known lawn mower company whose headquarters was located in the suburb of
Bloomington, a half hour drive from where he now lived. He sold primarily to
small, independently owned hardware stores in outstate Minnesota and the
surrounding four state area. He'd spent most of the early years with the
company on the road visiting his ever expanding customer base and making the
occasional cold call. He had retired after forty three years of service when he
was sixty five. He was well respected as an honest, truthful person and his
customer base was tops in the company. So driving was a big part of his life.
He had been provided with a company car, but, in addition to that, he had also
purchased an brand new Oldsmobile 98 in 1980. It was dark brown with a white
top and white leather interior and it was the pride of his life. He and Ann,
his wife, had used it for family vacations, and, after the kids had left home,
trips of their own. He still owned it.
If you were to ask him about his
life, Simon would say this: 'My life has been good. Ann and I were married for
fifty five years and they were the best years of my life. We had three great kids,
all girls and they are all happily married. I have ten grandchildren. My job
was good. I enjoyed my customers and didn't mind being on the road, traveling
to maintain my accounts. Even though I was gone during the week, and even
though I may have missed some of my kid's soccer games and some school events,
in the end, my job helped pay our bills. We weren't rich, but we weren't poor
either. Like I said, my life had been good to me.'
Which was true. Simon had lived a
good life. He was of a generation where hard work and sacrifice for the family
was considered a benchmark for most men. And he was happy with that and so was
Ann and so were his kids. If you asked Sara, his oldest daughter, what it was
like having Simon for a father she would say: 'He was a good dad. He was gone a
lot when we were young, but when he was home he devoted as much of his time to
us as he could. He taught us how to ice skate and took us sledding in the
winter. He went to our 'T' ball games when we were young and softball and
soccer games when we got older. He was a little old fashioned but he was fair.
I always knew I could count on him for good advice even if I didn't always
follow it. I think he's a great role model for my kids. I've seen lots worse
fathers.'
But a few months ago Simon felt
himself getting into what could only be described as a funk. At least that's
what his middle daughter Cathy would call it. Or maybe a mild depression. When
she stopped by for a visit she commented, "Dad, you just don't seem
yourself lately. Is it something to do with Mom being gone? Do you miss
her?"
"Of course I miss your
mother," Simon replied, somewhat testily, "I don't see why it's any
concern of yours."
Cathy wasn't going to take any guff
from him. "You don't have to get mad, I'm just concerned. OK?"
Simon was not one to open up to any
of his kids, let alone Cathy. But he wanted to let her know she didn't have to
worry. "Look, I'm sorry," he said, softening his tone. "I'm fine.
Don't worry about me. You just worry about Bob and those three kids of
yours."
Cathy knew from past experience when
a discussion with her Dad was over. "Alright, alright," She put her
hands out in surrender. "I get what you're saying. Just let me know if I
can help, OK?"
Simon appreciated that his daughter
cared, but what was going on with him couldn't be fixed by one's children. It
was only something that he could do himself, and that's what he was trying to
do.
Lately he had taken to driving his
Oldsmobile back to his old haunts. Back to the past if you will. He had been
enjoying going out and revisiting old memories. It all started just after his
conversation with Cathy when he'd decided to take a drive back the old
neighborhood and the street where he and Ann had raised their family. He'd
spent most of one day cleaning the Olds, vacuuming the interior extra clean and
waxing the exterior to a brilliant, glossy shine. The next day he headed out
almost as if drawn by some unconscious force. As he turned onto the street
where they'd lived old memories came flooding back. He was unprepared for the
onslaught of emotion that washed over him: holidays filled with laughter, a
Christmas tree he and the girls had driven out to the country to cut down, a
home filled with the aroma of fresh baked bread, chocolate chip cookies and
apple pie, good times spent celebrating countless birthday parties for the
kids. He saw a scene in his mind of the girls when they were young hunting for
colorful Easter eggs. He saw a lifetime of memories he thought he'd forgotten.
They flooded over him in a torrent. Wave upon wave. He was overwhelmed. He
pulled over to the curb and turned off the engine. The house looked nearly the
same as when he and Ann and the kids had lived there forty years ago. The shaded
front yard still had hosta planted around the edge of the house. Hosta that he
and Ann had planted the summer before their first daughter Sara was born. The
house was an off-white stucco with dark green trim. It looked to still be in
good shape. He started the car and pulled forward, looking into the back yard.
The big maple tree was gone and the yard was nice and sunny. It looked like the
family that now lived there had planted a vegetable garden. He smiled to
himself, approving of the change.
He then drove down the street and
crossed over to the next block where the park was. City parks were a god-send
to young families like his and Ann's. They provided a place for the kids to
play on swing sets and slides and open space to play all kinds of games. The
park brought back more wonderful memories, and, again, he parked the car and
stopped, reliving the past and soaking in the good emotions that came with the
scenes playing like a favorite old movie in his head.
He must have fallen asleep, because
he was startled awake by a gentle tapping on the window his head was laying
against. He shook himself awake and looked to his left. A policeman was
standing next to his car, looking in. He motioned Simon to roll down the window
which he did. "Are you OK, sir? Anything I can do for you?" He was
very polite.
Simon smiled, "No. Thanks. I
was just resting. I must have dozed off."
"You're sure?" He had a
questioning, concerned look.
"Yes, officer. I used to live
around here." He made a motion behind him. "Back there between 46th
and 47th. Just visiting the old neighborhood."
The guy gave Simon a good looking
over and said, "Yeah, it looks like a good place to raise a family."
Then he must have decided he was Ok and harmless enough. "Ok, then. You
have a good day." He gave Simon a smile.
Simon was relieved. "Thanks,
officer. You too."
The policeman was one of those guys
who patrolled on a bicycle. He patted the roof of Simon's car, got on his bike
and pedaled away. Simon watched him ride down the street, already forgetting
the encounter, already heading back in time. He was remembering a summer day
when he and the girls had spent an entire Saturday afternoon at the park kite
flying. He could hear the kid's laughter and he could see them running after
the bright yellow kite, chasing the long tail he'd fashioned out of an old
sheet. He sat there smiling. People passing by might have thought he was maybe
some sort of crazy old man except that they didn't. He just looked too peaceful
to be considered much of a threat, too calm and unassuming. After a while Simon
shook himself out of his revelry and began the drive home, thinking that he was
starting to feel better about himself. Better about life. Better, anyway, than
he had felt in a long time. So he decided to keep searching out those old
memories, those old haunts of his. There might be something to them. Something
worth experiencing.
The next week he drove to where he'd
gone to high school. He had seen on the news some years back that it had been
torn down and replaced by a ten story apartment building. Time marches on, he'd
thought to himself when he'd first seen the story. There wasn't much you could
do about that. But he drove to the location anyway and parked across the street
and, like when he had gone back to the old neighborhood, just being by the site
of his old high school brought back a flood of memories. Good memories. Memories
of him playing basketball and being a forward on a team that nearly made it to
the state tournament his senior year. Memories of being on the track team and
lettering in the high jump. Memories of his first girl friend, Margaret Loftgren,
and memories of nights spent parking down at a secluded spot near one of the
city's lakes. Memories of teaches he'd liked and classes he'd taken. All those
memories helped to fuel the fire inside of him that had somehow been smoldering
and had almost gone out. But now some embers were sparking. Like the friendly
flames in a cozy fireplace, he was feeling touched by something from the past
that was helping lighten his mood. He drove home even more energized than
before. It was as if the memories of the life he'd lead were building him up
somehow, reconstructing him, making him whole again and, in so doing, helping
him to get over the funk that he had fallen into.
The following week he drove over to
the University of Minnesota, parked his car and started walking around the
campus. He'd forgotten how lovely it was among the century old buildings, so
solid, so reassuring. How pretty Northrup mall was, outlined with tall stately maple
trees, and how cool and inviting the grass looked, waiting for someone to plop
down open a book and start reading, only to fall asleep in the peaceful,
restful shade. With a sense of anticipation he walked to Walter Library, the
place where he and Ann first met when they were students. He went inside the century
old building taking a moment to breathe in the comforting aroma of old books
that wafted over him. There was a sense of security here. It was almost like
coming home again. He walked through the stacks to where he had literally
bumped into Ann when they both rounded a corner at the same time nearly sixty
years ago. He'd knocked her books from her arms and as he bent to help her pick
them up their eyes met, and it was like they both knew right then and there
that they would be together for the rest of their lives. They'd begun dating
and were married in the summer two years later after they both had graduated.
As he walked around the campus, he couldn't believe how wonderful those old
memories coming back to him felt. He had to sit down more than once, just to
compose himself. It was here that his life really had begun. That chance
meeting with Ann had set the course of his life in a direction that had given him
the opportunity to marry, have a family and make something of himself. Later
that afternoon as he drove home he felt himself again re-charged and energized
by what the memories of those old days were doing to him. He was actually
feeling happy again. It was like a magic wand had been waved over him and a
glorious spell had been cast. Except this wasn't magic, it was real. He felt
himself smiling for the first time in a long, long time.
Less than a week later he was
listening to the local radio station that on Sunday nights played big band era
swing music from 10 pm to midnight. He loved Benny Goodman, Count Basie and
Ella Fitzgerald but, really, any swing era band would do. On this particular
night Goodman's band was playing 'Sing, Sing, Sing' when the thought came to
him that he should seek out the old Riverview Super club in Minneapolis just
north of the city on the Mississippi River. He and Ann used to go there often
when they were first married and continued to make time to go there even after
the kids started being born. Because he traveled so much during those early
years, he made it a point to take Ann out on the weekend as often as they could
afford. The Riverview was where they could get an inexpensive meal and dance to
whatever band happened to be playing on the stage that overlooked the big hardwood
dance floor.
With a sense of excitement the next
day he drove to where he remembered the supper club was located. He was
disappointed to find it wasn't there. Instead there rose into the sky a high
rise luxury condominium complex called, appropriately, The Riverview. Across
the street and down a half a block was a bar that looked reasonably safe. He
parked the Olds, locked it, walked down the street and went inside. It was just
after 2:00 in the afternoon and the bar wasn't very crowded. There looked to be
a manager seated near the front door, paging through the Star and Tribune
Newspaper. Simon approached him,
"Excuse me, could I ask you a
question?"
The guy appeared to be around sixty
years old and seemed friendly enough."Sure. What's up?"
"Do you know anything about the
Riverview Supper Club that used to be down the street?"
He set the paper aside. "They tore
it down in the nineties. Part of improving the riverfront," he said, using
air-quotes around improving. "Damn shame if you ask me." He looked
quizzically at Simon. "Why?"
So Simon told the guy about how he
and Ann used to go there on dates to have dinner and dance to the bands that
passed through town back in the fifties and sixties. The guy was impressed and seemed
to like talking about the old days. He took Simon to a booth, bought him a beer
and they spent the next hour talking about what it was like for Simon and Ann
to be in the supper club.
"It was a lot of fun for us,"
Simon told Tim, who the guy had introduced himself as. "We were young and
in love. Didn't have much money. I worked hard all week and Ann worked hard
raising the kids. Going to the Riverview was a good way to relax and have some
fun together. Some great bands used to play here. We heard Benny Goodman a few
times."
"With Gene Krupa on drums, I'll
bet," Tim said. Simon nodded, grinning. Tim smiled as well. "Too bad
they had to tear it down. It was sort of a land mark around here."
Simon looked off into the distance.
"It was a great place. I'll never forget it."
"Sounds like you've got some
great memories, though," Tim said.
"More than some, young
man," Simon smiled. "A lot more."
They talked awhile longer and then
Simon had to leave. As he rose Tim clapped him on the shoulder and shook his
hand. He'd had a good time talking to Simon. "You're welcome here anytime,
buddy. The beer's always on us."
Simon laughed and went out to his
car again recharged with the power of these old memories that seemed to just
make him feel better and better. He hummed parts of 'Take the A Train' by Duke
Ellington all the way home.
The following week he placed a long
distance phone call out to Brownsville, a medium sized town in the western part
of the state near the South Dakota boarder. His friend Steve Vossen picked up
on the third ring.
"Steven, old man, is that
you?" Simon liked to give his friend a hard time. Steve was almost twenty
years younger. "Can you still hear me? You aren't getting deaf, are
you?"
"Simon, you old so and so.
What's the good word?"
Simon and Steve had met back in the
late fifties when Simon was first starting out. Steve's dad had run 'Vossen's
Hardware' back then. After getting to know each other over the course of a few
months, Simon had sold Steve's father his first order of Toro lawnmowers. Steve
now owned the business. They'd been friends for many years. If you asked Steve
what he thought about Simon, this is what he'd say: 'Simon's one of the nicest
guys I've ever met. Salt of the earth kind of guy. Dependable as the day is
long, if you get my drift. He's the god father to my second oldest son. I can't
think of anything negative about him except that I swear he cheats at cribbage.
I've never caught him, by the way, but sometimes I just don't get how he can
win like he does. But don't get me wrong, if that's the only thing wrong with
him, what the heck, that's OK with me.'
The two friends had a long talk reminiscing
about the old days, as well as getting caught up on what was going on now. Maintaining
a local business in a rural town was challenging these days, but Steve was good
at what he did. His hardware store was doing just fine. It made Simon proud of
Steve and his family. After they had hung up Simon was feeling pretty good. Talking
to Steve had reminded him of how much he had enjoyed his job, and especially
how fond he was of the many friends he had made during all those years. Yep, and when he took a few minutes to think
about all the places he'd visited over the past few months and all the good
memories that had come back to him, he realized that life had been good back
when he was young just starting out in his career, and it was good now even as
he was getting older. The more he thought about the more he felt as if he had
turned a corner. He felt rejuvenated. The dark mood he had been in was gone. He
had an extra jump in his step. He felt alive.
He felt so good, in fact, that he
decided the next day to go for a drive into Minneapolis, have lunch at the beautiful
old mansion that housed the Swedish Institute and then go for a walk around one
of the city's lakes. It was a fine day to be out and about. He had Swedish
meatballs for lunch which had been a favorite of Ann's and he had them as a
sort of homage to her. They were as tasty and as flavorful as he remembered
them being. Afterward, he drove over to Lake of the Isles. The day was sunny
and warm and his walk around the lake was both peaceful and invigorating. Gulls
soared above him calling and reminding him of a wonderful vacation he and Ann
had spent on Mackinac Island in Michigan. Today's blue sky and white cumulus
clouds seemed to reflect back the sunny mood he was in. As he walked other
strollers coming toward him nodded a greeting and some even said Hi. In a while
he was joining in, greeting people with a smile and a nod, echoing the spirit
of the day. His senses were alive and he felt he had reconnected with his life.
He felt he was back to being himself again.
He decided to stop at a nearby co-op
on the way home for some fresh fruits, vegetables and eggs supplied by local
farmers. When he was done shopping he got on the freeway just as rush hour was
beginning and was cruising home comfortably in the middle of the three lanes.
He was reliving in his mind how much better he was feeling about his life compared
to a few months earlier when suddenly out of the blue some nut case in a fancy black
Mustang swung across behind him changing lanes from left to right, missing his
rear bumper by inches and nearly crashing into him. He almost had a heart
attack. He clutched at his chest and then realized that he was OK, just
rattled. What the hell was that guy trying to do? Simon thought to himself. He
could have killed me. He could have killed anyone. Simon watched the car swiftly speeding away, weaving in and out
of traffic. What a damn fool. Someone ought to do something. And as he drove along
watching the guy speed into the distance, an idea occurred to him. The more he
thought about it, the better he liked it. Maybe he was just the guy to do
something about it.
Joel was laughing to himself. The
near miss with the old car fired him up, getting his adrenalin really surging.
He was flying down the freeway feeling as if he was one-with-the-road when his
dash board started dinging. What the hell, he thought to himself and then he
knew what the trouble was. The dinging was a warning. He was almost out of gas.
He'd have to stop soon. Damn. He made a move into the right lane, positioning
himself to get off at the next exit. It was a mile ahead. He'd get gas and get
back in the game. A pit stop was how he thought of it. Just like the Indy 500. In
and out. Should just take only a minute or two. Behind him Simon had eased the
petal down on his Olds and was slowing gaining on Joel's black Mustang.
Simon watched as the Mustang made a
power turn off the freeway onto the exit ramp for Rockford Road. It was in the
right hand lane, it's turn signal light flashing. The whole car seemed to
vibrate as the brake lights came on and the car screeched to a stop. What the
heck, Simon wondered, watching the Mustang. What's this guy up to? Never mind,
he told himself. He had something he had to do. He wasn't in the mood to just
be an observer in life anymore. He was
going to take some action.
Simon came off the freeway and
maneuvered into the left lane. Cars were slowing down in front of him and he
was able to judge the distance so that he came to a stop next to the Mustang
and just a half car length behind it. The positioning was key because during
the chase up the freeway, Simon had devised a plan. He reached over to his
grocery bag and pulled out the carton of eggs and set it on the passenger's
seat. He opened it and took a grade A extra large in his hand and gently tossed
it up and down. He liked the feel of it. He used the electric control on his
arm rest to lower the passenger side window. When the window was down he was
ready. He watched the traffic signal up ahead and when it turned green the cars
in front of him started moving. He nudged his car up next to the Mustang and
wondered for a brief moment if he should really go through with it. Then made
his decision. What the hell, why not? He cocked his arm and let fly. The egg
hit the passenger window of the Mustang with a resounding 'splat' spewing egg slime
all over the shining black car. Simon laughed to himself and grabbed another
egg. Just as the guy was opening his car door and standing up, Simon let fly
again, the egg hitting the guy square in the chest. The cars in front of Simon
had moved forward and he followed them to the intersection with Rockford Road
where he turned left, crossed the bridge over the freeway, and took another
left back down the entrance ramp and onto the freeway again. Just like that he
was heading home, feeling a level of excitement he'd never felt before. He'd
done it. He'd shown that guy what it was like to mess with someone like him,
who, old man or not, still had a little life in him. Simon obeyed the speed
limit all the way back to Lakeview, occasionally looking in the rearview
mirror, wondering if the guy might be coming after him. But he didn't have to
worry. He'd never see that black Mustang again.
Joel freaked out when the first egg
hit his window. Peering through the mess he could see that some old guy next to
him had thrown it. Well, he'd show him who was boss. He'd teach that idiot a
hard lesson. Joel was scrambling to get out of his car when another egg hit him
square in the chest, egg gunk soaking into his shirt. He literally saw red he
was so mad. He was making a move toward the car when the old guy sped away.
Joel jumped back into his Mustang and put the car in gear revving the engine. But
he had nowhere to go. The line of cars in front of him hadn't moved. He had
angrily swung the Mustang half way into the left lane when a car coming up from
behind smashed into his front left wheel and fender, pushing his car into the
car in front of him, crushing the front of the Mustang like a huge metal
accordion. It was a rush hour traffic accident not uncommon for this time of
day. Glass and car parts were strewn all over the place. It was a real mess.
Joel wasn't going anywhere soon.
Simon actually did see the Mustang
one last time. It was on the 6:00 local evening news. No one had been seriously
hurt in the accident, and it may not even have made the broadcast except for
the fact that the police had been searching for the black Mustang for over a
month. A reporter interviewed a spokesperson from the highway patrol.
"Yeah, we've been looking for this guy, but never were able to catch him.
Had him on surveillance cameras and everything but never got a good image of
his license plate. We even had a nick-name for him, 'The Scorpion', 'cause of
his car and everything." Watching the guy from the highway patrol you
could tell he was almost giddy. When the reporter asked about the egg throwing
incident, he just laughed, "Well, for us, that's not real important. The
guys on the force actually thought it was kind of funny." He smiled, then
tried to turn serious again. "Catching this guy with the fancy Mustang is
a big deal for us. He was a real danger to other drivers. He won't be driving
anytime soon."
Simon was fixing his dinner while
the news was on. He was making an omelet sprinkled with some shredded cheese added
extra just for fun. He sat down as the story about the apprehension of 'The
Scorpion' was wrapping up. The spokesperson from the highway patrol was saying,
"We heard that an old guy in an old car was the one tossing the eggs. We
don't recommend anyone doing this, of course, but we aren't going to worry
about pressing charges." You could see the guy was barely able to keep a
straight face.
Later that night, Cathy called.
"Dad did you see the news? What did you think about that old guy throwing
the eggs at that speed freak? That wouldn't be something you would do, would it?"
Simon joked with her, not wanted her
to think he might have done it, "You know maybe I would. It might feel
good to let off a little steam now and then."
"Dad," Cathy pleaded,
"Please don't say you are condoning this. You always taught us to behave
and follow the rules." She sounded worried.
Simon laughed, "I know, dear.
I'm just kidding. Don't worry. I'm just a crazy old man." He laughed again
and then changed the subject. "Now, tell me how Bob and those grandkids of
mine are doing."
After they hung up, Simon sat back
in his chair and closed his eyes. He saw a flood of those memories from the
past months washing over him like a wave carrying positive feelings of emotion
and strength and happiness. He felt more alive than he had in a long time. In
the future he wasn't going to go out looking for trouble, no, he wasn't that
kind of a guy. Besides, it wasn't about responding to trouble. It was about
being alive and feeling like your life was worth something and taking control
of it when you could. That's how he felt. Tomorrow he'd go for a drive. Just
for the fun of it. Maybe head down the Mississippi to the quaint river town of
Red Wing. He and Ann used to go there for little getaways. Sometimes they'd
even see eagles soaring. If he was lucky maybe he'd see some tomorrow. Yep, that
sounded like a good thing to do. It was time to rekindle some more good
memories. Maybe even make some new ones. Time to enjoy being alive.
