Family Gathering Stories

Yesterday when we were together I heard a piece from the past that I don't think I remember hearing before.  

The prelude sounded familiar however.  Joe Beachy's boys were here and oldest brother M was seeking to impress by backing up the old '62? blue-green pickup along the north side of the barn--very fast.  The clearance wasn't very wide, and the passenger side connected with the side of the barn, forever rendering the door on that side inoperable.  

Later, M and younger brother L were doing some fence or cattle work and M drove the pickup to a closed gate, which he thought L should open so the pickup could pass through.  The problem was that M had to get out first, since L's only exit was through the driver's door.  

I pause here to inject some commentary.  From this distance it certainly appears that driver M should have opened the gate himself.  As the story is told, however, he launches into some high-flying explanation of why this was not nearly as reasonable as it appears.  He explains that L was showing evidence of intransigent behavior and it needed to be nipped in the bud before it became more deeply entrenched.  

Back to the story.  L slid as far across the seat as the steering wheel and stopped, refusing to get out to open the gate as expected.  M grabbed hold of L and proceeded to haul him out, but unfortunately L was too tall to clear the door frame completely on the way out and his head smacked horrifically on the frame.  I didn't hear all the gory details yesterday, but the story was told in the context of other people's brain concussions and going limp and eyes rolling back into the head and other such alarming head-bump after-effects.

I never heard how the gate got opened.

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My boys chimed in with their own recollections, in the course of marveling that anyone at all grows up whole and healthy, given all the dangerous things young men undertake when they're still clueless about the danger.    I'd like to think that, besides being evidence of God's protection, such marvels are partly attributable to the incessant and ever-present warnings emanating from the mouths of parents everywhere.  These young people need that more than they have any idea.  Fussing is part of a parent's job.

It's been almost a year since all my boys have passed the 25-with-fully-matured-brain milestone.  That's a relief.  On the other hand, we're still 22 years away from the oldest grandchild passing that milestone.  Thankfully though the principal-fusser roles can be assumed by younger folks--their parents.

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My cousin's daughter Laura had a bad week recently when she was involved in three vehicle accidents.  She was at the wheel the first time, with her father as a passenger, when a badger ran out in front of them.  In the resulting loss of control, her father suffered a concussion, but she wasn't hurt much.  Later, while she was a passenger in another vehicle driven by her cousin and friend, the vehicle collided with a deer.  I can't remember the details of the third accident, but, again, one of her girlfriends was driving and Laura was a passenger.  No one was seriously hurt in any of these accidents, but it's probably a safe assumption that at least three young ladies are driving pretty cautiously these days.