The Tow Truck Driver's Story

The Tow Truck Driver's Story
-Elizabeth W. Garber

You meet all kinds of people in this work.
You have to be polite, twenty-four hours
a day. It was a brutal winter night,
I'd worked since four a.m., finally coming in
to sleep when the phone rang, a guy calling
from up on Appleton ridge, saying
he needs a jump. I asked, "Can't it wait?
There's still snow on the roads, the plows aren't
All through. It'll take me three hours at least
to get there with the roads like this." "Ok,"
he said, "I'll wait." I went to bed an hour,
before he called, "It's an emergency."
The storm had eased as I headed out,
But the wind had been so bad, I had
To stop and climb over the drifts to knock
the snow off signs to see where to go,
a hard dark climb up to Appleton Ridge.
Over three hours to get to a lonely
country farmhouse, light glowing brightly.
Then a man in, I kid you not, a red
Satin smoking jacket comes out and waves.
I think he's waving to me, and wave back,
But it's a garage opener and out of the dark
A door rises, lit like a museum,
A car, glittering white and chrome beauty,
It was a 1954 Mercedes.
A Gull-Wing. You ever heard of them?
I think they only made ten of them.
Its doors lift up like a gull in flight.
I bet it was worth a million dollars.
I ask, "Are you going to take that out?"
"Oh, no, we just got back from Jamaica
I want a jump to make sure it's ok."
It starts like a dream, purrs dangerously.
"Oh good," he says and walks away, waving
his arm to close the door, never saying
a word, left me standing there in the snow.

------------------------------------------

"...Don't you own a smoking jacket?" I ask myself.

"Shhhh....I'm busy," I respond.

Some observations in light of the Iraq war

We've been witness to the Gulf War for several years now. Below are some observations I've made largely as a result of witnessing this conflict. Of course a good amount of these things are pilfered from men and women much more intelligent than I am, so I've tried to give credit where credit is due.

It should be known that I cautiously supported the war in its beginning. Since that time I have been on a bit of an intellectual journey to discover what I really think about war and its goals.

I have been transformed in my thinking, but I'm still in process.


1. Constitutional rights were created to be upheld in difficult times, not done away with. It is precisely those difficult times that reveal the constitution’s merit. Freedoms cannot, primarily, be forsaken in the name of “national security,” whether they be our freedoms or those of another nation. Nor can we take away the rights of non-Americans and simultaneously demand the rights of Americans either domestically or on the foreign stage without staring squarely in the face of our own hypocrisy.

2. You cannot wage a global war and simultaneously expect no consequence to a global economy. The current government has assumed that war could be waged and the economy, the sacred cow, could continue on as before. War has consequences, and in a nation that no longer has the ability to sustain itself, America has suffered and will continue to suffer. In a country where economy is God, that is a problem. Pope Benedict XVI, in his most recent encyclical, speaks of Marx's crucial error in communism...it may apply to us as well:

[Marx] forgot man and he forgot man's freedom. He forgot that freedom always remains also freedom for evil. He thought that once the economy had been put right, everything would automatically be put right."

3. War solely for the sake of peace is not justifiable. For centuries wars have been fought in the name of peace, and for centuries no war fought in the name of peace has resulted in peace. The two concepts are innately opposed to each other. It’s like saying I’m going to build a tree house by digging a hole.

"The aim and result of war necessarily are not peace but victory, and any victory won by violence necessarily justifies the violence that won it and leads to further violence. If we are serious about innovation, must we not conclude that we need something new to replace our perpetual 'war to end all war.' -Wendell Berry

4. There is a time for war. Ecclesiastes bears this truth. History provides evidence as well- there is a time to fight. However, if I am being completely transparent, I have to admit that I don’t yet know when that time is.

5. There is a difference between patriotism to the ideals that the constitution upholds and patriotism to the current ruling government. Thomas Jefferson felt that skepticism was an important part of being a citizen,

"for nothing can keep it right but our own vigilant and distrustful superintendence."

Patriotism has been manipulated by those in power of both parties who are simply seeking the favor of the masses. Patriotism is defined (though “patriots” would not put it this way), as a blind loyalty to the actions and motivations of the presiding regime. What America wants, America has a moral right to, and if you disagree you are an unpatriotic, ungrateful coward.


I'd love some feeback on my observations, so don't be afraid to pushback a little...

FYI

I have been out of town on business for the past week- hence, no posts. I'll be gone again this weekend, but I'll be able to post a few things until then.

Death to Teddy

We've all heard about the tragic teddy bear faux pas that caused riots in Sudan. Yep, people actually rioted over the name of a teddy bear. I know, I know, cultural sensitivity and all that. But the country has kids named- well- you know, that religious leader's name. So, if you have a really ugly kid and you name him after the late religious leader, do you get 40 lashes?

Come to think of it, I haven't heard of any riots over the fact that nearly 500,000 people have been killed in the country's recent genocide efforts.

I bet the 2.5 million displaced Sudanese refugees are glued to their proverbial T.V. sets to see just what is going to become of the sac religious Teddy.

I'm just venting, I suppose.