The Infamous Night Ride

May 2001. Mane! It seemed like everything was falling apart. My job was killing me, my money was funny, and everyone and everything was getting on the top of my last nerve and was working its way to the bottom. My wife was going through the same thing at her job. As a matter of fact, it got to the point where she just decided that she had to get away from it all for a little while and she and my baby girl hopped in the Alero and ran away to Destin Florida! I thought it was kinda extreme - she could've gone to Biloxi or even her Grandma's in Columbus MS, but Destin is where she wanted to go, so either that Thursday or Friday, they took off. Back to my situation: I've been putting alot of hours in at my job and it was stressing me out. It was getting to the point where I felt as if I didn't have a personal life at all. I was the Quality Lab Supervisor and I had to be on call 24-7. My pager went off more than a pimp paging prostitutes. I was getting fed up. Anyway, that Saturday, my boy and I went to Batesville MS to a Springfest carnival and we had a pretty good time. When we got back to Clarksdale, I made the mistake of checking my answering machine. I was needed at work again. On a Saturday. That was the straw that broke the camel down. I ain't going up in that joker this time! Skip it; I'm leaving town. Skip it some more; I'm leaving the friggin state!

I called my wife and told her I was coming all the way to Destin that night. I packed my bag and about 8:30 that night, we were on our way to Destin. We took US49 to US82 in Greenwood, MS, then took MS35 to Vaiden, MS and got on I-55 to Jackson, MS. In Jackson, we hit US49 and rode it to Hattisburg, MS, where we picked up US98 to Mobile, AL. Then somewhere in Mobile, I made the wrong turn and got so friggin lost that we added almost a whole hour to the trip! We didn't even go through the I-10 tunnel. By the grace of God, we made it back to I-10, even though I have no earthly idea to this day how we got back there. Anyway, we made it to Destin around 4:00 or 5:00am. I found the hotel my wife was in and I slept until about noon.

After I woke up and got refreshed, we decided to go to the beach! It was a blast! My boy (5 years old at the time) acted like he'd never been anywhere before. He ran up and down the beach like a crazed rabbit. My little girl (one year old at the time) was crying herself to sleep because she was scared of the water. I played in the water for a bit and then my girl and I took a nap on the beach while my wife and boy played in the water. For that brief moment in time, I was in heaven, relaxed, and didn't have a care in the world. Of course I wanted to move to Destin and become a beach bum! I still wanna do it!

But alas, reality set in, and it was time for us to get ready to go. I had to be at work Monday, plus my boy had to go to kindergarten. Before we left, we all went out to eat at TGI Friday's. Then about 7:00pm, my boy and I made the night ride back to Clarksdale. All of this happened within 24 hours. I can't remember exactly what time we made it back to Clarksdale, but I did make it to work on Monday, even though I was a few hours late. Hey, I'm on salary - I was gonna make that time up sooner or later! This trip by far has got to be my wildest ride I've made in the Bird. It didn't help that much though. The very next month I snapped off at my immediate boss - I'm pretty much an easy-going person: It's very rare for me to go off on someone. Then the month after that I snapped off at the chief executive officer! I thought for sure I was gonna get fired, but I guess that would've been too good for me. The month after that I was relieved of my supervisor duties and all I had to focus on was getting a QS-9000 certification. I was so glad!

Lately, there have been lots of violence and deaths that's stress-related. Word of advice: If something is getting on your nerves so bad that you can't function normally, leave. Take a break. Take a trip, even if it's just a weekend getaway. Turn the frikken pager off. If they ask you about it say your battery must be low. Find something else to do. Also, think about the consequences. I was lucky - I should've been fired the first time I snapped off. Do not put your family through hardships and heartaches because you can't handle a stressful situation and you do something stupid. Go find a parking lot and smoke that joker up doing some do-nuts or something! Or be like me and just ride til you can't ride no moe.


September 11, 2003
REFLECTIONS: It's been 16 years since that wild ride. Looking back at this situation and what I'd written on this page, I feel that I have to clean up some things that I stated. First of all, if you feel that you can't handle a job, or if you feel that you can't put in the time and dedication to doing your job, let your boss know and work something out. NEVER JUST "UP AND QUIT"! Second, NEVER LIE! As a matter of fact, if you just gotta get away, let your boss know. You have to think about your coworkers and the position you'll put them in if you don't give them a warning that you won't be at work. Also, lying is a sin. Read Revelations 21: 8. Finally, don't put yourself down if you can't do the job, especially if you've given it your best. Ears can't see and Eyes can't hear. The job may not be for you. Find your passion, or at least find out what you're good at doing, then improve on it.
Take care, and be blessed!



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June 13, 2017