Sunday, November 14, 2010

KATE AND MAGGIE

KATE AND MAGGIE

Maggie sat at the kitchen table, drinking her morning coffee, looking out at the clear blue sky. She picked up the local easy shopper paper and looked to see what garage sales were listed. Most of her Saturday mornings had started the same way for over 40 years.She was proud of the fact that she looked and felt great  for 76 years old and didn't look a day over 65. Her kids were grown and had kids of their own and lives that were stretched across the country away from her. Maggie's husband of 45 years had passed in his sleep several years before, leaving her with a comfortable life, but a very lonely one. Turning the pages, and sipping her coffee her eye caught a very small ad at the bottom of a page.



"Kate,retired, 35 years long haul trucker,will drive you anywhere you want in any kind of vehicle, you pay expenses." Maggie chuckled to herself and thought that would be quite an adventure. She moved on to the garage sale section and decided today she would pass up the sales and do the laundry that had been waiting over a week. 

There was just something about that ad in the shopper  that kept nagging at her though. What did she have to do all day long? She would love to go cross country and visit her kids and grand kids. She didn't think her old car would make a trip that long though. She would have to get a newer one. The more she thought about it the more she want to call that woman Kate and ask questions. Laundry done, she went through the paper again and found the ad. She dialed the number and a woman answered. Kate told her that she placed the ad because she was bored not being on the road but didn't want to drive semi-trucks anymore. She would be glad to get together with her and talk over a trip and just what it would take to make one across country. They talked on the phone for a while when Maggie told her to just hang up and come on over to her place. She could not wait to see Kate and talk to her in person.

Maggie was excited to see Kate at her door.She was a small woman with big blue eyes wearing a jean jacket and a cowboy hat. Kate laughed at Maggie's expression.   Maggie immediately wondered how in the world she could handle a semi-truck. All that power and her being a slight 5 foot 3 inches tall. Kate explained that she used to sit in her father's lap as he drove a big rig and was clearly in love with trucks from an early age. She adapted well and when she got her license to drive she could not wait to try out the big rigs. She had some close calls in her years on the road, but nothing that she couldn't handle. The more the two women talked the more Maggie was convinced this was exactly what she wanted to do.The next decision was how much it would cost for such a trip and what kind of a vehicle she would get to make it all work.

This was the beginning of something that would change both of their lives forever.