MY HERO

It's been a really BAD, Strike that, its been a HORRIBLE day. I woke up with the knowledge that it was going to be a bad day and just kept plowing ahead. My check didn't come in like I had counted on so I borrowed $80 and a smaller car from my girlfriend Gigi because I had a very long trip to make and I drive a big old Ford Clubwagon XL van and up until this afternoon she drove a 95 Chevy Corsica. I was making a trip to Kentucky from my home in Missouri to take my son to spend some time with his mother. The trip usually involves 7 or 8 hours of "pull over, I gonna wet my pants" or "Are we there yet?" choruses of a five year old boy sitting next to me. The trip usually sets me back on my bills for a month or so because you just can't travel cheaply with a young child. They have to be appeased or life is pure hell. Plus I am moving apartments this week so I have enough on my plate already without adding more. But I promised my sons mother that I would get him to her for a visit before school started again so I was making the trip. The first half hour was fine. The I heard the first "are we there yet?" which was quickly followed by "I gotta pee!!!" Of course miles from the nearest station and on a busy highway. That situation was resolved quickly enough. On we went with our odyssey. An hour away from home the real trouble began...
Recall I said up until this afternoon Gigi drove a 95 Corsica. Well, she doesn't anymore. Because the engine decided long trips with no money are a lot of fun and left me stranded on the side of the interstate with a five year old who had to go again and this time couldn't wait and soaked the car, himself and me in the process. So now I have been urinated on, am stranded on the road, my cell phone doesn't work but a really nice lady let me use hers to call my landlord who gave the phone to Gigi who now had to drive my van, The Beast, to come save us. (The Beast made the trip fine by the way.) So we wait in the heat and listen to Clifford the Big Red Dog on the radio... Don't ask me how the kid found it, he just did and I thought he would take my arm off when I tried to change the channel. Luckily Gigi had packed us a cooler of food before we left so we had plenty of cold drinks and food to sit for a while. She got there about an hour or so after I called her and we went to look for a car dolly. Guess what? My van has a hitch. Know what else? You aren't supposed to use a class 1 hitch to pull a car dolly. I learned that today after an hour of looking for a place that even had them. So we called our landlord again from a payphone and she made arrangements for her son and his friend to bring a flatbed trailer and truck to haul the car home on. These guys are lifesavers. We are all so very thankful to them for helping us out. We waited in the gas station lot for a couple hours or so for them to get the trailer and get there and then helped load the car and followed them back. These guys were awesome and only charged $200 and they are letting me pay it over the next couple weeks which I really appreciate. So we got the car back to Macon now and unloaded at the warehouse. Now we go to pick up the baby at Gigis aunts house where her mom is for a birthday party. Nice drive out there and back. On the way back, Gigi recalls a friend of hers got a really good deal on a car the other day and he works tonight so we go by the nursing home where they both work to talk to him. She goes in to talk to John and I sit with the boys in the car. My son, Marc Anthony, is sitting behind me quietly and finally he leans up and pulls on the back of my seat...."Dad?" I jumped because he startled me and asked if he was going to pee on me again and he laughed at me. He smiled and hugged me as he came up between the seats. "Dad, You're my hero." I almost cried... The whole day had been Hell but those four words made everything so much better. Its 2:40 AM now and I am awake writing this to share with all of you if that gives you an idea of how much it meant to me. My heroes are sleeping quietly in their beds. It's not been such a bad day after all. Good Night.