Volume 2 – #5 – December 1998

So, there we were, at a truckstop plaza about ten miles east of Little Rock. It was 3:00 AM and the Donut (our bus/van thing) wouldn’t start. We were an hour from our motel rooms in Wheatley, Arkansas and were pretty tired. Sleeping in a warm bed sounded better than standing around a cold truckstop. Don’t get me wrong. I really like hanging around truckstops in the middle of the night if I can leave when I want. We tried to get a jump from a couple of people but the problem was more complicated than a weak battery. One guy was a particularly enthusiastic jump starter. After his attempt to help failed, he and his traveling companion parked their car and went inside the truckstop. I decided to walk around and discover some significance to this mess. I’m often accused of over analyzing things. I looked at truckers playing video games. I looked at truckers drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. I looked at some crystal figurines and colorful snack packages. I stood alone in a trucker’s lounge and called Jane, my wife. She was delighted to hear that we were stranded. As I was walking back to the Donut, I came across our friendly, enthusiastic jump starter and he was freaking out. He was exclaiming that his traveling companion had abandoned him and was frantically looking in all directions at once. He didn’t have his money or his coat or his backpack. He was quite convincing and sort of bald, so I offered him my hat, which he quickly took without thanking me. I have to admit, he did look warmer when he put it on. I told him we would be happy to give him a ride if he was going our direction, but, as he knew, the Donut wouldn’t start. So he just continued to wander around the truckstop, trying to find someone to help. After observing him a little longer, I think now maybe he was never really with the other guy. Perhaps he was a hitchhiker and was simply dropped off at the truckstop. Or maybe he was in cahoots with the other guy and was trying to scam people to get money or something. He got my hat.
By 3:45 or so, things were really looking bleak for Brave Combo. We were waiting for a tow truck from AAA. It was even colder than it had been and there were a couple of old, backwoodsie men at the pump next to us trying to fill plastic jugs with gasoline. They were yelling and cursing at the cashier in the building. At one point the most agitated and verbal of the two stormed inside and came out almost immediately. For some reason, he walked up to the Donut and asked us what the problem was. Joe or Danny described the symptoms and the man dropped to the ground and crawled under the engine. He found a broken cable and called to Danny to turn the key. Some sparks flew out and, sure enough, the Donut started. Suddenly, everything changed. We were so happy. We could leave and sleep at least a few hours in our motel after all. The old backwoodsie gentleman explained to us that when he went into the store to have words with the cashier, he apologized instead, for losing his temper. As he left the building, God directed him to us. I’ll buy that. We thanked him about a million times and he loaded up his plastic jugs of gasoline and drove away. We drove away, too. I was in bed by 5:30. Perfect.

Well, December is falling away and the new year creeps closer. We continue to play a lot of Christmas parties this month. Speaking of Christmas, I understand it will be celebrated on December 25 this year. You might want to make a note of this on your calendar. It’s ironic that Brave Combo has become so associated with the holiday season because I’m not particularly fond it. Mostly, it gets in the way of doing business as usual. But it also concerns me how many new disposable things humans can make out of plastic and sell to other humans in need of a shopping fix. But nothing’s going to change, so Merry Christmas to you all. Anyways, I like to look at dogs dressed up in Santa suits.

Two public shows this month I would like to mention are our annual Dallas post Christmas show at the Gypsy Tea Room and, of course, New Year’s Eve at Liberty Lunch, in Austin.