Road Trip #13 Eagle Point

Mount McLoughlin is out there somewhere, named after a big shot with the Hudson Bay Company in the early 1800's.  No relation.

      Wayne, Ron and I finished our Sunday afternoon nap, cleaned up and got dressed.  We were going out to the village of Eagle Point, maybe eight miles from Ron’s house to have dinner with Gretchen, an old friend of mine.

      In the City of West University Place, John and Bonnie Hellums lived four houses down from Charlotte and I and we became close friends.  At that time, our daughters were three and their boy, Josh was one.  Charlotte was pregnant with our son Paul. 

     The girls, Devon and Gretchen, became best friends and remain so until this day.  Gretchen liked to be in charge.  A typical playtime seemed to always start with a statement by Gretch, something like, “Let’s play going to the grocery store.  I’ll be the mommy and you be the kid.”  Josh, Gretchen's brother and my son Paul's best friend, was all boy.

     Gretchen married Steve Ferreira, a veterinarian who specializes in small animal surgery.  He has a thriving practice in Oregon, near Medford.  Gretch and Steve have two daughters; Sophie, nine, and Mae, four.  Both girls are precious.

     We pulled into Steve and Gretch’s guest parking area at the appointed time and they met us at the door.  I had spoken with Gretchen earlier in the day, to verify the time and make sure there were no last minute complications.  She assured me that everything was set.  Steve’s father from Houston, along with his new fiancé, would be joining us.  We met them and the two precious little girls in the entry hall.

     We were having drinks in the spacious kitchen/family room when Wayne said, “You know, Fred, your name is very familiar to me.  What did you do in the real world?”  He was speaking to Steve’s father.

     “I had a company that sold large vacuum trucks, mostly to municipalities.  They are used to clean blocked sewer lines.  It is pretty specialized equipment.  Most people don’t know much about that business.” Fred answered.

     “Not Vac-Com?  That’s it!  One of my running mates in Houston was Dodge Ferreira.  Y’all must be related!  I was with Underground, Inc.  We did a lot of business together.”

     “Dodge is my brother.  That’s why your name is so familiar. Didn’t you go on that hunting trip with him to Mexico when one of the guys shot some Mexican farmer’s cow?”  Steve and Wayne were both excited and laughing.

     “And the Mexican tried to charge him five thousand dollars?  Yeah, I was there.  The farmer tried to tell us that cow was his reincarnated grandmother,” Wayne laughed.  “That salesman was snake bit.  His name was Nick DeSimon and he worked South America for Dodge.   Once, he charged an appendectomy to the company on his American Express card.”

     “I never heard about that.  What happened?”

     “Dodge furnished American Express cards to his salesmen to cover travel expenses.  Nick was in Brazil and told Dodge he wasn’t feeling well, but would go ahead and get his work done.  A few weeks later, Dodge was going over the expense reports and discovered a $13,000 charge from a hospital in Rio.  He called DeSimon to raise hell and Nick said he had to have an appendectomy.  He was travelling on company business and therefore, it was a work-related expense.  Finally Dodge said he would pay it this time but it better not happen again.”

     Soon, Wayne and Fred were calling old friends on their cell phones, starting every conversation with, “I’m up in Medford, Oregon.  Guess who I’m having a drink with?”  We all laughed until there were tears in our eyes.

     Gretch prepared dinner for all nine of us, while we laughed and told stories and visited with each other and enjoyed Sophie and Mae.  Gretchen steamed fresh artichokes and made a dipping sauce and served it with our drinks.  She boiled corn on the cob, fixed a tossed salad, and baked yeast rolls while she kept everyone’s wine glasses full and ministered to the needs of her children.  She did it seamlessly, as if this was an everyday affair.  I was amazed, remembering Gretchen’s mother, Bonnie, and the frantic, hap-hazard, last minute productions that most meals at her home had been.

     Steve, in the meantime, grilled a beef tenderloin outside and the whole meal was excellent.  The floor show after dinner was provided by the girls, Sophie and Mae, with a karaoke machine they dragged out of a closet.  It was the kind of evening I think everyone should enjoy as often as possible during their lifetimes.

     I had not seen Gretchen for at least fifteen years.  After dinner, she and I got a chance to visit privately while everyone else laughed and told stories in the family room.  Gretchen is all grown up now.  She is absolutely beautiful, about six feet tall and, in a word, statuesque.  Gretch has grown into a competent and caring young mother.  She works as a therapist and helps people with severe problems.  I believe she specializes in people who have been abused; mentally, sexually, and/or otherwise.  I have no doubt that she is excellent.

     Incidentally, remember Josh, the younger brother?  He is now Major John Sherwood Hellums, M.D., in the U.S. Army.  His wife is also a doctor and they have two children. 

     It gave me a lot of satisfaction to visit with Steve and Gretchen and their family---it is good for an old man to see the younger generation grow up and realize that everything may be all right, after all.

     Wayne, Ron and I drove back to Medford, laughing and remembering the events of the day.  We had a wonderful visit with Ron and needed to get a good night’s sleep.  We planned to leave early in the morning, to begin our trip back to Texas.

    

    

          



Just like Ole Willie---On the Road again!