Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1264646
Sam's Ride Marty & Debbie Edwards Sam was a good guy, a little on the wild and impulsive side, but a real good guy. He certainly did not mind a hard day's work on the family f arm, but when the itch got too big to scratch, he just had to go. Early one morning he met h is father at the breakfast table and explained how he just wasn't cut out to be a farmer and wanted to try life on his own for a while. His dad asked him how he was going to make it and that's when Sam suggested that he give him his inheritance now. The father understood and knew his son well enough to know that once his mind was made up, no one could stop him. I f Sam was wild and impulsive, his older brother Vince was just the opposite . Vincent (as he liked to be called) was well organized and focu sed and drew his purpose and self - esteem from working the family business. It stands to reason that Vince was angry about his brother taking off like this, leaving his res ponsibilities behind to go ride motorcycles and chase women. Good thing for Sam his father hadn't said anything to Vince about the early inheritance. Sam often thought to himself what a loser his brother was. The day soon came when Sam packed his saddlebags and blanket roll and prepared to hit the road. When his father asked where he was head ed , Sam just shrugged his shoulders and said, "We'll see." and w ith the twist of a throttle and a cloud of dust, that was the last of Sam his dad and brother would see for several years. In private h is father wept. At first it was pretty awesome being on the open road with no time schedule, no chores and no expectations from others . The sun and the wind and the long ribbon of empty highway in front of him fed Sam's soul like nothing ever had. For the next several weeks Sam did nothing but ride...eat....sleep and repeat! Sam wasn't a hellion and wasn't without principles and boundaries. He had grown up in the church and went to Sunday School most Sundays with his mom and dad and older brother. But after mom passed away, the church thing just sort of fell by the wayside and was replaced with building the family business. If mom's passing was Sam's first opportunity and intersection for major ch ange and compromise, this road trip was his second. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Sam had missed two Christmases so far without any plans for coming home. Christmas was always a special time on the farm with family and friends. (Norman Roc kwell could not have painted a prettier picture!) Even calling home just to say "Hi!" had gone from a weekly ritual to a monthly one and before long Sam just stopped calling altogether . Most of his money was gone and his old Softail was getting tired. It w asn't that he drank his money away or did drugs...it's just that being on the road, without a job or a purpose gets old and time takes its toll . With endless stretches of open highway, Sam started to think about the farm, his dad and even his stuffy older brother. More than them, he thought about his mother, her love and what her constant encouragement had meant to him . He wondered what she would have thought about his wandering. Thinking about his mom led him to thinking about the old church, the people, t he hymns they sang and those corny picnics on Sunday afternoon s . The farm seemed like a million miles away, but Sam got on this bike the next morning and headed for home. Sam had not ridden a hundred miles that morning when he came around a corner and confront ed an eighteen wheeler. Rather than become a hood ornament he laid the bike down hard, watching it high - side and then slide down the opposite embankment. Low on cash, no means of transportation and having just acqu ired a new limp, Sam put his thumb out and pressed on. In the following months Sam washed dishes, pumped gas and even did a little panhandling. He spent a few days in jail d ue to a misunderstanding and an unsympathetic judge. He slept in city park s an d ab andoned building s , ate scraps or sometimes got a reasonable meal at the rescue mission. People in general were not helpful or friendly , usually ignor ing him or g iving him a defensive glare . His clothes were worn out, his money was all gone and that limp wa s getting much worse. Alone at night with nothing but his thoughts, home and family took on a new appeal and worth to him. He even began to pray again, like when he was a kid. Sam may have been taken out by a Peterbilt, but his last ride before getting to the farm was a Kenworth. As he slowly made his way up the long dirt driveway, carrying nothing but a brown paper bag, he began to make out the silhouette of an old man walking towards him. Soon, the old man began to trot and then run and then Sam found hi mself running as well! Even though he hadn't bathed or shaved in days, the old man threw