When I was a kid my Dad would take us grocery shopping at night after work. Many times we would take the back way to Safeway, but on many special occasions we would make the adventure up the long winding Shaw's Flat road to Roy's Easy Market. Roy's was a special place because there were so many great memories waiting in the store.
We would park in the dimly lite parking lot and make our way though the heavy creaking double doors. When you walked into the store there were great smells of chicken cooking in the rotisserie, sausage being made and sawdust on the floor. My cousin Jimmy worked in the meat department and I always wanted to ask him why they had sawdust on the floor and why they never cleaned it up.
We would order our meat and chat with Jimmy. More often then not Jimmy would hand me a cold hot dog to munch on while we were shopping. When we were ready to check out Dad would let me buy a candy or soda pop for the long trip home.
The ride down Shaw's Flat Road at night could be a scary one as we never knew if we would see a deer , skunk or even an old porcupine. Some nights when we round the bend by the old cattle corral Dad would turn off the truck and we would coast down the road with no sound, no engine running, no sounds of a truck at all. We would roll down our windows and watch the dark road in his headlights and hang our arms out the window like we were flying.
We were undercover cops looking for bad guys, wild adventurers looking for wild animals and bad guys hiding from the law. Our imagination ran free and there was not car phone or car television to ruin the fun.
As we came to the corner near Golf Links Road Dad would turn the key to on and pop the clutch. BANG! The engine would start and that rusty old truck would carry us over the hill past grandpas ranch and home to Mom for dinner.
There came a day when Dad had me climb up on his lap and he would work the peddles and help me steer the giant wheel that made the tires turn. Then came the big day when Dad would slide to the passenger seat and I was allowed to take the truck for myself. I can still hear his voice as he gave me directions.
He would say " Now son watch the road all the way out where the lights are shining not just where the hood of the truck is. Remember the button on the floor control's the lights. Be slower then the limit and just keep it between the lines." That was a lot to remember for a kid but Dad was right there and I knew he would keep me safe and keep me from straying off the road.
Today, my life is like those early days of driving that old pick up. As I grew God was steering my life but like most kids I eventually took over the wheel and then the pedals that controlled the gas and brakes. I found out fast that when I tried to run it myself I ended up in many accidents.
Then along came marriage, kids and Parkinson's Disease. My days are filled with decisions, weak legs, low energy and the challenges that a disease can present to a man like me. At first on my real bad days I hand the keys to God and said you drive my arms are weak my spirit is low and I am tired.
As Parkinson's takes more control of my body it has not taken control of my mind or spirit. Some days I let God drive and I roll down the window and feel the wind blowing as we quietly float down the road. Other days I sit on Gods lap and he lets me share the wheel and when I am real lucky he sits in the seat next to me and I drive.
God of course is always in control and giving his fatherly advice.The road may be dark and scary and there might be things hiding in the dark but God reminds me to not look to far ahead of me but to focus on all that is in my view, to never run through life to fast and to always keep it between the lines. With God along for the ride I know that I have an amazing life ahead and that he will carry me on "My Journey."
Cause it's a long, narrow road
Only the good Lord knows
Where it leads in the end
But you got to begin
So keep your hands on the wheel
Believe in the things that are real
Just take your time
And keep it between the lines
