Last Trip with Bob - Part Two

We were awakened by people talking and yelling. Half asleep, we picked ourselves up and stumbled out from under the boardwalk to see what was happening.  Emerging into the brightness of the new day, we saw a crowd of young people at a makeshift stand, erected haphazardly on the sand. We moseyed on over to see what was going on.

What do you know, it was two young guys selling bottles of beer. Since we were thirsty and hungry of course we wanted some of the forbidden brew. We were too young to buy the tasty concoction ourselves at home, so we jumped at the chance for a brew! Even though it was expensive we purchased two bottles to partake of the nectar of the gods. It tasted great to us. Beer on vacation made our day, and the day had hardly started yet. We finished our brew and strolled off to the boardwalk to see what other trouble we could find.

Sitting on the bench of the boardwalk we feasted our eyes on the waves hitting the beach. Suddenly three jeeps came into view from the under the boardwalk and progressed toward the crowd of people chugging beer at the stand that we had just left. They were local police. It seems the beer stand was just a couple guys illegally peddling beer to underage teens. Everyone there was being arrested. The sellers and the buyers. Thankfully we had left just in time to avoid another problem. Arrest for underage drinking. We lucked out again.

Pretty much the rest of the day was uneventful. That night we stayed in a student house that Bob knew of. It was cheap and had ten beds in each room.

Sunday we again roamed the boardwalk and saw the sights. About five in the evening we left for home. We decided to leave early because we could not make it the whole way home without getting gas. Since on the way down at night, we ran out of gas and were siphoning gas from the hoses of a station that was closed and a policeman stopped and asked what we were doing. He must have felt sorry for us at three in the morning because he waited while we got enough gas to continue from draining the hoses at the shut off pumps. Saved again. HE  was watching over us even then!

We were waiting to cross that six lane highway again, about half way home. When the light turned green I eased the clutch and started forward. I pulled in the clutch and hit second gear and left the clutch out. Nothing had happened. I never miss a shift so I tried third gear. Same thing I had no forward motion. I was far enough along to coast over to the side of the lane. Something was wrong.

When we were safely across and pulled over we looked back. Something long and black was lying in the lane we just coasted from, and a car ran over it and it bounced along the road looking like a snake. Horrified, we realized it was my drive chain! Bob darted between the cars and retrieved the precious chain. Without it, we were not going anyplace!

Thanks to Bob's genius at anything mechanical we patched the chain at the house of a guy we just met, who had compassion enough to help two bikers down on our luck again! [Again, thanks for spell checker making this story readable.] We lost about two hours fixing the chain. We took three links apart and patched the chain. From all my wheelies and burnouts I had stretched the kinks enough, and one finally gave out. We were mobile again. Thank you Lord for watching over us again.

The rest of the way home we did not get into any trouble. Every now and then my life is uneventful, thank Goodness! I took it easy on the chain so we would not break it again. Funny it lasted another three weeks at home before I had the money to get another chain. See what I mean about when Bob and I get together, we have fun-filled adventures that make great memories.

After his dad died I was checking on his mother weekly here because he was back in his home in Florida. She said one time I was visiting, "I am glad you guys settled down. I need Bobby to take care of me. I don't have to worry so much about you guys, since you are not being as reckless together." I guess age does mellow us some.

Bob still stops in to see me at least once a year, over the summer. He is on his second marriage. I'm glad he found a good life partner again. We all need someone to help us navigate life. Well another chapter in our life, for future generations to learn about their ancestors. I hope my ramblings have helped you too. You can see no matter what life throws at you, with help you can survive, if you never give up!

I'm sure I forgot some bad things in my life, it is good you remember more of the good than the bad.