I had mostly been thinking how I could get out of that place and escape the jungles of Austin before the traffic picked up at rush hour. It was about 2:30 PM, but knowing that by 3:30 I’d be trapped. That’s just the way Austin traffic works.

I had already passed by this fellow but there wasn’t anyone behind me, so I backed up to get close to him. “You need some help“?

He said he did so I found a place to park and went over to him. A dead battery. He had hooked up a little booster battery box device he carried along, but it too was dead. We fiddled around a little with it, but nothing but some good set of jumper cables was going to get it going.

Finally I said, “is there someplace I can take you”? Knowing I didn’t really care whether he was north or south, I’d just continue on home from there. He said he’d appreciate a lift, there wasn’t much of a way around leaving the truck behind. He told me he lived up north, almost to Pflugerville. “Well that’s right on my way“. I guess I stretched the truth a little, but I’d still get him dropped off and be out of town before the dreaded traffic picked up.

We gathered up his things and secured his pickup. He needed a little help, as he walks with a cane. He seemed concerned that it may be difficult to get in my truck, it being considerably higher than his. I told him not to worry we’d make it somehow. I gave him a little boost and he went right up in the seat.

As we headed out for his home, I did like I always do. I ask him about every question I could think of. He told me he would get his wife to come back and help him get it started later or the next day. He said he had a good pair of cables. He told me about the accident that had left him crippled. He had been at St. David’s doing therapy like he does several times each week.

As we got to his house I started thinking about how hard it may be for his wife to take him back and then the difficulties they would encounter getting it started. In a parking garage everything is a tight squeeze.

I had taken Madeline to the airport early that morning, this past Thursday it was, for her to fly to The Dominican Republic for a few days. So nothing was really tying me to a schedule, so I suggested we get his cables and go back and start his truck. It wasn’t like I had anywhere I needed to be and if I did get stuck in traffic, at least I don’t have to do it everyday like thousands of people.

Heck I had just paid $4.00 to park while I’d went up to visit my old friend Sonny Loftin in the hospital, so if he didn’t get the truck fairly soon the bill may be astronomical.

He told me how to enter his garage to get his cables and then we were headed back down the highway. We pulled in and found the space next to him was empty, so I got him out of my truck so I could get in the tight space. (people don’t park very good and the spaces are always smaller than they should be)

In just a few minutes we were hooked up and the little pickup fired right off.

I wished him well and told him I’d follow him to where he was going to turn off to get a replacement battery.

Now I had my opportunity. “Wait, I have something to give you”. I always have a box of my books in the backseat so I grabbed one and signed it, adding my phone number at the bottom. I said, Larry keep my number around and if you are ever stranded again, give me a call. I just may be around.

I followed him to his exit and then came on home. You know I never hit a bit of heavy traffic to speak of.

The next morning I got a dreaded call. The ones I hate to answer. The ones that you don’t know who it is. Usually a solicitor or scam artist of some kind. But it was Larry. He said he’d gotten a new battery and everything was fine.

He had already read some of the book and recalled as kids how they’d pepper each other with bird shot, just for fun. I guess kids growing up in Houston weren’t that different from the ones growing up in Smithwick.

He thanked me a said something that really touched me. “There aren’t many people around that will stop and help a stranger”. The sad thing, Larry is probably right.

July 3, 2024

You know something, I was sitting up in bed, it’s 2:45 in the morning. I was looking for a story about something. Now I can’t even recall what I was looking for. I’m sure it didn’t really matter. Then I ran across this post from almost 8 years ago. As I read it I got to thinking about Larry, that I only met that one time.

I guess his battery is holding up okay. He never called me again.

Being curious if I’d even know who he was if he did call, I typed in Larry in the search bar in my contacts. I have a dozen or more Larry’s. So I went down the list until I didn’t recognize the last name and clicked on it. As it turns out, I had the forethought to actually type in enough information in my directory that day, so if Larry called, I’d be able to put it all together.

As I went back and read the comments from several people when I first posted this, telling me what a nice thing I had done…blah blah blah, I realize several of those people are no longer around. In fact Sonny, my friend that I went to visit that day at the hospital has passed on.

Wondering if Larry was still with us, I did a search. Looks like Larry has passed on too.

After reading Larry’s obituary and finding out his wife’s name was Sandy, I did a deep dive on her FB page. Below was something one of her dear friends had written back on the day of Larry’s passing.

These beautiful blue eyes are in heaven now. This morning Larry passed peacefully with the love of his life, Sandy Procter Lyons by his side. While on vacation in 1985, the two love birds were involved in a hit and run in Jamaica. Larry suffered the most serious injuries. For all these years, I’ve admired Sandy for the care she’s given Larry. When I say care, she has done everything from cutting his food to being the breadwinner of the family. Larry thought the sun rose and set on Sandy. He never complained (seriously never). He would tell me “Is Sandy okay? I know it’s not easy taking care of me”. Though we will miss Larry so so much, we know he is walking and is pain free now. I will forever admire my friend for the courage and strength she has shown for the 37 years that she spent selflessly caring for Larry ❤️ Please send love to Sandy, Shelli and the grandkids❤️ This picture was taken after I cut his hair and trimmed his beard.

Knowing this all brings the story of Larry full circle for me.

My final thought about this whole episode: Hug your old friends when you can and make new ones when you get the chance.