Yes, yes Mr. Ford

joshford, originally uploaded by v_wilder.

Where do I begin with a man of this fame, no matter where I choose it will do no justice to what he has accomplished.

We will start with how to get to Florida…

I am at a local watering hole in town when a friend of mine approaches me and asks me to entertain the idea of traveling half across the country to see sunny Florida. The spirits were flowing that evening and like many people under such circumstances jumped at the opportunity and agreed. Of course like many before me, I dismissed this as rhetoric from a friendly sot and moved along my business thinking no more of the event. That is till the next morning, as I was aroused from slumber to my telephone ringing ever so amplified on such a morning to a lovely voice, “Be at my house in one hour we leave for Florida.” I responded simply, “Are you serious Clark,” from that came, “One hour, don’t be late.” So I gather my semi-charmed life together and cleared up some issues at work and left a lovely note to mother stating: Went to Florida, call you when arrive. And so it began, a great adventure amongst barely known friends and one stranger with a simple plan, get to Florida.
It was hot that day and only getting hotter the further we went south. Normally this would not of mattered being the age we live in, but to our surprise the air conditioner did not work in vehicle (Eagle Premier) we chose to drive…in August… too Florida…needless to say Richard Simons was not needed. I felt extremely bad for Conner, the poor kid sweats just telling stories so you can only imagine him in a car where the temperature was just atrocious. Regardless of our personal comfort we began the journey ahead of us with smiles on. The journey was relatively smooth except a few minor mishaps. For one, we decided on the way down to stop and play a game of darts and have a refreshing cold one; driver excluded of course. We chose a pub in one of our passenger’s college town in Missouri. No big deal except that one of our passengers lost their ID with in ten seconds of walking into the bar. How is this possible, you ask? Easy it was the Ford. The only logical explanation that was ascertained was that someone stole his ID; I personally never felt this explanation was worth its salt. That being behind us we set off again where I began to drive as everyone slept. Anyway our next snafu happened in Alabama, when one of the state’s finest pulled me over for speeding. The man was a gentleman who let me off with a warning but before that he had to check to make sure I was no everyday criminal invading his home state. What made the situation abnormal was that he was K-9 and his fellow officer was in the back seat snoozing. So I was forced to sit upfront while he ran my background. I am not sure how many of my readers have ever sat in the front on a trooper’s vehicle but let me tell you it is sharp with lots of toys. I asked politely to use the radar gun; which the trooper, between spits of chaw, (I not kidding about that either) agreed and let me zap a few roadsters. Out of nowhere a car sped by us, going faster than I was I might add. So I show the trooper and he responds to me, “Don’t worry son, we’ll get him down the road. Now it says here your clean so I am going to let you go, (SPIT) just keep it under control till you hit the next state, I know them sons of bitches have the day off today.” I simply responded, “Yes, sir!”
After all that we ended up in Florida to the chuckling of Jayson as we approached his home for the summer. We had an absolutely glorious time down. We spent our days deep-sea fishing, boating in a cove, and drinking beers with friends, a ménage a trios of memorable moments. I thank Jayson and Brian for hosting us that weekend, Ryan for talking me into one of the best trips I imagine I will ever have, and Conner for puking on my back the first night. I would tell you more but what happens in Florida stays in Florida.