stuck in the middle with you
I was home for a breath before we hit the road again.
There was one night kiss my lover, one night at my grandparent's in Port Hope, where I got to spend time with my brother (more handsome and mature than ever), and then my mom and I were in my grandfather's Cadillac driving to Vermont for my cousin's wedding in style.
After four hours of driving we cheered as we crossed the border and drove our way into New York State. We drove through farm country before a light in the car started flashing: BATTERY LOW. Shit. We kept driving. BATTERY LOW. STABILITY REDUCED.
We needed a garage quickly but all we could see were farms, fields and a few cows here and there.
And then "STOP! Garage!" My mother pulled a quick u-turn into a garage along the road.
That's when we met Sue and Lee.
Lee, a gentle looking mechanic, lifted up our hood and told us our alternator wasn't working. We shrugged. He told us it would take a while to fix. We sighed. We explained about the wedding, and before we knew it he was calling the closest car rental shop and sorting out our problems.
Sue and Lee saved us. They also opened up to us. We soon knew all about Sue's struggle with leukemia, Lee's strength throughout it all, about their pets, friends and family.
Starving, I took off down the road to a broke down looking deli. I stepped into another world, with dusty shelves piled with canned goods, sunglasses so old you couldn't see through them, and a humble kitchen at the front. I asked the woman for a tuna sub, and she looked at me with big eyes and asked if I'd like "all the fixins." I, of course, said yes.
Around an hour later we were back on the road in a rental car. Driving along, I looked at my mom and smiled, "Is it wrong that I'm having fun?"
The drive was beautiful. The sun was setting, in a field I saw a young girl reach for her fathers hand beside a tractor, overalls hanging to dry on clotheslines, and families selling corn by the road.
Eventually we made it to Vermont, heavy headed, at Betsy's quaint bed and breakfast, where we fell asleep on fluffy floral pillows and slept through the night.
In the morning Betsy made us eggs, oatmeal, bread pudding, and everything our hungry stomachs could wish for. When the sun lit up the quaint streets of Montpelier, we explored the town, its bookstores, and I spent all my money at the farmers market on luscious local produce.
The next night we made our way up a dirt road to see my cousin married on his bride's family horse ranch. My cousin Ayah from California sat like a 50's pin-up girl in the white plastic chairs, horses stood behind us wearing blue bow ties, and wildflowers lined the path to the arch where my cousin would be wed.
My eyes turned to water when the bride walked down a hill in the distance, white dress flowing, her father and my cousin's angelic daughter side by side.
They exchanged vows, my cousin cried, we wiped a few tears ourselves, and then we headed down to the horse ranch for a beautiful potluck dinner and dancing.
It was another adventure. I learnt to never be disappointed, to trust in the good of people, to love and laugh in every situation.
My mother and I get a lot out of life, and we give back as well. We drove hours to support my cousin, who wanted a few close family members to match his bride's large number family and friends. We came for him, to celebrate love and his new found happiness.
And on the way home, we stopped off at Sue and Lee's garage, dropped off a box of Vermont chocolates, and thanked them once more.
Because of two kind strangers we made it to the wedding, and because two people fell in love, I got to experience Vermont first hand on a horse ranch. Life is full of the unexpected, and I think that's what keeps me going.
There was one night kiss my lover, one night at my grandparent's in Port Hope, where I got to spend time with my brother (more handsome and mature than ever), and then my mom and I were in my grandfather's Cadillac driving to Vermont for my cousin's wedding in style.
After four hours of driving we cheered as we crossed the border and drove our way into New York State. We drove through farm country before a light in the car started flashing: BATTERY LOW. Shit. We kept driving. BATTERY LOW. STABILITY REDUCED.
We needed a garage quickly but all we could see were farms, fields and a few cows here and there.
And then "STOP! Garage!" My mother pulled a quick u-turn into a garage along the road.
That's when we met Sue and Lee.
Lee, a gentle looking mechanic, lifted up our hood and told us our alternator wasn't working. We shrugged. He told us it would take a while to fix. We sighed. We explained about the wedding, and before we knew it he was calling the closest car rental shop and sorting out our problems.
Sue and Lee saved us. They also opened up to us. We soon knew all about Sue's struggle with leukemia, Lee's strength throughout it all, about their pets, friends and family.
Starving, I took off down the road to a broke down looking deli. I stepped into another world, with dusty shelves piled with canned goods, sunglasses so old you couldn't see through them, and a humble kitchen at the front. I asked the woman for a tuna sub, and she looked at me with big eyes and asked if I'd like "all the fixins." I, of course, said yes.
Around an hour later we were back on the road in a rental car. Driving along, I looked at my mom and smiled, "Is it wrong that I'm having fun?"
The drive was beautiful. The sun was setting, in a field I saw a young girl reach for her fathers hand beside a tractor, overalls hanging to dry on clotheslines, and families selling corn by the road.
Eventually we made it to Vermont, heavy headed, at Betsy's quaint bed and breakfast, where we fell asleep on fluffy floral pillows and slept through the night.
In the morning Betsy made us eggs, oatmeal, bread pudding, and everything our hungry stomachs could wish for. When the sun lit up the quaint streets of Montpelier, we explored the town, its bookstores, and I spent all my money at the farmers market on luscious local produce.
The next night we made our way up a dirt road to see my cousin married on his bride's family horse ranch. My cousin Ayah from California sat like a 50's pin-up girl in the white plastic chairs, horses stood behind us wearing blue bow ties, and wildflowers lined the path to the arch where my cousin would be wed.
My eyes turned to water when the bride walked down a hill in the distance, white dress flowing, her father and my cousin's angelic daughter side by side.
They exchanged vows, my cousin cried, we wiped a few tears ourselves, and then we headed down to the horse ranch for a beautiful potluck dinner and dancing.
It was another adventure. I learnt to never be disappointed, to trust in the good of people, to love and laugh in every situation.
My mother and I get a lot out of life, and we give back as well. We drove hours to support my cousin, who wanted a few close family members to match his bride's large number family and friends. We came for him, to celebrate love and his new found happiness.
And on the way home, we stopped off at Sue and Lee's garage, dropped off a box of Vermont chocolates, and thanked them once more.
Because of two kind strangers we made it to the wedding, and because two people fell in love, I got to experience Vermont first hand on a horse ranch. Life is full of the unexpected, and I think that's what keeps me going.
posted by Gillian Young at 3:53 AM
8 Comments:
I find your mother's take on those 2 people so interesting in comparison to yours. I think you have your ma's strength of charactor, but with a much softer and warmer heart towards strangers.
I think my mother just took a more straight forward approach of describing the strangers, because in person she was even more genuine if anything, listening to their every word and embracing them. But thank you for your comment, it's interesting to see how we come across in our writing.
You have such incredibly gorgeous experiences, and you record it all SO beautifully with that camera of yours! And with those sublime words as well... Ah, Gillian, every visit to your blog leaves a smile on my face. Thank you.
P.S. ~ Looks and sounds like you had an amazing time in France, as usual! Glad you enjoyed your time here.
Thank you! As long as you can enjoy these crazy adventures, then they're all worth it! Next time
I'm in France we'll have to meet for drinks!
I'm pleased that you actually met some genuinely nice people out there that will help a stranger in need.
Makes me smile and gives me faith in this world.
You obviously enjoyed the wedding, did you catch the brides bouquet?
you need a summer at saanichton farm with ur little buddy robyn... drivin' tractors...throwin' bales with the hunky bale bandits... meetin' farmers... we could make a movie of ya's.. call it "the simple life"
... farmer bryce
It sounds so perfect. Great to hear stories of people being open and good to their fellow man. Vermont is gorgeous and I'm glad you had good experiences− never stop having fun! I'm curious, how do you find a horse ranch for a wedding? Did they call random ranches until someone said yes, or find one on http://www.gatheringguide.com/ec/event_venues_wedding_sites.html, or just know someone? I'd like to do that for my wedding.
The horse ranch belonged to the bride's family! So beautiful!
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