Taking the Wrong Turn:

I often wonder why I’ve spent these years alone. Sometimes I think it was because I knew what I wanted but took the wrong turn. Do you ever think about being a Kid riding with the Folks and your Pop says, we’ll take the short cut but it ends up being the long way home? You are either that Kid that sponged in the sites or you curled up in the back seat with your Sony Walkman, CD Player, today’s MP3 Player or Phone. I’ll always remember riding home to Illinois driving past the Cotton Fields, over the Mighty Mississippi, across the flats of Arkansas , through the hills of Missouri, past the St. Louis Arch that I always loved to see, then to the Illinois Sweet Corn. I was the kid that always remembered the Landmarks. Made straight A’s in Geography and could shoot an azimuth like no other. I always tried to listen to my Pop’s stories about Papa and couldn’t wait to get there to see my Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grand Parents & Friends. Family was the most important way of life and the only way of life back then. So many wonderful memories and the most cherished days of my life. I remember going to Dairy Queen, out for Pizza at the Families favorite spot, fishing with Papa in the old Coal Mines, eating Nana’s awesome cooking, Fish fry’s, playing Rocky, Scarface & Babyface with my Favorite Cousins. I never played Cowboys & Indians. Times were different up there back then. We always Celebrated the 4^th of July with Family Friends & Neighbors. Went hiking and playing on Trails at the Local Park, Indian Mounds, Black Angus, Ice Cream in the Summer, the Blizzard of 1979, the YMCA and Family Picnics were the greatest. Helping Pop in the Garden & driving Mom crazy with wet snow suits and hot chocolate. Memories that I will always hold dear to me for the rest of my days. So when the next time you get a chance to ride, soak in everything and tell your Pop to take the short cut home and see if you get there any sooner than planned. Take off the head phones, strike up a conversation and in no time you’ll be feeling like you’re back home again. Because when that ride stops, you have either learned valuable life lessons or you have missed out on making childhood memories that will last a lifetime.

Troy David Beadles