It can truly be said that some of the greatest things in life are given to us from the good Lord. Such was the case in the winter of 1990.
It was the night before Christmas Eve and we had the worst ice storm I had ever seen followed by snow. Living at the bottom of a hill and having bald tires on my car, I was going nowhere. Normally this wouldn't have bothered me except that my siblings and I always spent Christmas Eve with my father. I went to bed that night racking my brain on how on earth I was going to get from Bryant to Benton, a 14-mile trip.
Undoubtedly, I had a very restless night. By 3:00 in the morning I had been unable to sleep so I finally got up. I turned on the radio and soon learned that the temperature was -4 degrees with a wind chill of -10. This didn't help my situation at all. I opened the door of my trailer and looked outside.
The ground was covered by undisturbed snow and the sky was crystal clear. The stars were bright, and the moon lit the sky gently. Everything was glittery and white. Like a soft wind, the answer to my problem came to me. I was going to walk the 14 miles to Benton. At the same time my logic said "Whoa! Let's talk about this." Too late, my mind was set. I began bundling up. This consisted of two pair of pants, a shirt, a sweater, two pair of socks, a bomber coat, an overcoat, gloves, and a hat. I looked about three times bigger than I was. I put all my presents in a large trash bag, locked the door, and off I went.
Now Bryant, Arkansas is a very small town and at 3:30 in the morning it's not likely that you will meet anyone and even less someone you are close too on the street, but I did! My ex-girlfriend's parents ran the local paper route and here I was walking down the street looking like a large stuffed animal. They stopped and I explained my plans to them. They left thinking I had totally flipped I'm sure, but I didn't really care. A kind of happiness had taken a hold of me that was like a rush of electricity running through my body. This night had something in it that I didn't want to miss.
As I got out of Bryant, I began to wondering if I had lost my mind. I mean only a total idiot would be outside, in the dark, in below freezing weather, heading AWAY from home. "Turn back," my logic was screaming, but I just kept walking on.
Two miles outside of Bryant there are bauxite pits that are partially filled with water, which gives the impression of being a lake surrounded by mountains. With the winter weather this impression was even more beautiful. It reminded me of the Christmas carol "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" and I began singing it as I went on my way.
A little ways down the road, I came to the local Humane Society, which only consisted of a small building and a few pens for the strays that came in during the day. A large gate blocks the driveway. Often people will tie stray dogs to it when the place is closed to be collected by the care-giver when he arrives at work. A small dog was tied to the gate as I came up and realizing that probably the care-giver wouldn't be there for several hours I untied the dog and placed it over the gate so that it could get to one of the dog houses in the opened pens and stay warm. I left wishing I could have made sure it could get somewhere warm but hopefully the care-giver would be there soon.
My journey led me next to a bridge that crossed over a mining road that had a traffic light on it. The green and red lights gave off a strange, yet beautiful glow to the area around them. It was neat how this image fit so well with the night and the holiday season. I entered the community of Bauxite, which lies between Bryant and Benton. The road became hilly and the road a solid sheet of ice. Every step was a slippery task, and I knew I was probably going to fall on my rear end. That didn't worry me as much as the fact it was pitch black and I heard dogs barking all around me. Mental images flashed in my mind of me running like a wild man in the ice with fifty dogs nipping at my heels. I laughed at myself as the images faded. I tried to walk quietly past the dogs and at the same time keep my balance on the ice. I only saw one dog, but he didn't bother me.
I realized at this time that I wasn't cold, even though I had been walking for at least two or three hours. Soon the hills gave way to flat land again and I could see the lights of Benton in the distance. My guess was there about a mile left to go before the city limits began. I pictured my father's face when he saw me standing at the door of his music store, which he lived over. What would be even more interesting would be the look on his face when I told him how I got there.
As I arrived at the edge of Benton, the town looked like Bedford Falls in the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life". I stopped in the convenient store there to buy a cup of coffee. When I got to the counter to pay for it the clerk asked me how long I had been out in the cold and indicated the frozen mustache I now had. Knowing that she would probably never believe my story, I told her that I had been working on my car battery and just finished. She still didn't believe me. She gave me the coffee and wished me a Merry Christmas and I was on my way.
Thirty minutes later I arrived at my dad's music store. It was now 7:30 in the morning. My journey had taken me four hours to complete; I knocked on the door.
Dad was at the back of the store and was reluctant to open the door until I took off my hat and he recognized me. When I answered all the questions I knew were coming, I got the look I was expecting. Later my siblings arrived and like my dad their response was just as expected. "Have you lost your mind?"
We celebrated with presents and hugs. The best present I got that year was my walk on that special night. While most people slept, I learned by helping a stray dog get to shelter what good will toward men meant.
On this special night I saw the majestic work of the Lord in his wintery creation make what seemed like a crazy journey to Benton, a journey of shepherds and wise men. The same type of night that was traveled by a man and woman who would soon would lay their child in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes as angels sang on high. This was Christmas as it was meant to be seen and I was given the honor of seeing it face to face.
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