Conner Hall Hall 1

Mr. Barnum
ENGL 1010

2/08/19 Long Road

I miserably sat scrunched between my brothers, Michael and Dave as we drove in our RV

from Montana to Texas. Michael was fast asleep drooling on my shoulder while Dave was

jamming out to his new cassette tape player. My father was meticulously driving while my Mom

read a brittle old book in the passenger seat. My youngest brother, Justin bounced up and down

on the floor of the RV while he was playing with his dismembered Star Wars toys. I felt sick, it

was humid and smelled like molding cheese. I knew we were in for a long ride.

My father was a stamp collector and seller. We were on our way to a stamp convention in

Fort Worth where my father planned to sell some of his stamps to make some money for our

struggling family. My father was conned out of his job a couple years earlier and ever since we

had lived in an RV traveling between states. It was a tough adjustment we had to undergo and it

wasn’t easy living on the road with two older brothers and a younger brother who constantly wet

the bed we had to share.

“How much longer?!” cried Justin for what seemed like the millionth time.

“About four hours…” answered my father assuringly.

“But you said that an hour ago,” Justin whined.

My father didn’t respond as he kept his attention forward cruising along the open desert

highway. I could tell he was trying to keep his composure. I had no idea how he was able to hold

it together and put up with all the nonsense. All of his misfit kids crammed into a compact space

for hours on end undoubtedly wasn’t ideal. I could sense his growing frustration every time a

new nuisance would emerge. Whether it be Justin complaining about being bored, Dave back
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talking, Mike being a smart aleck, or me causing trouble. There was always something to test his

patience.

Suddenly a deafening squeal came from our tire. The RV began swerving back and forth

as my Dad struggled to manage the wheel. “Hold on tight!” he shouted. My brother Mike jolted

awake as he flew from his seat into the wall in front of him. Justin rolled from one side of the

cabin to the other like a bowling ball, while Dave scrambled to balance himself. I quickly

grabbed onto the nearest bar I could find and held on until my father resumed control and pulled

off to the side of the road.

“That’s just great,” I heard him utter before opening the door to check what was wrong.

My mother turned frantically to check if everyone was okay. We then exited the RV to

join my Dad. My father cursed under his breath as he stood in dismay gazing upon a flat tire that

now looked like a deflated balloon . While he is a very confident and capable man, I can tell

when my father is concerned. He stood up and placed his arms on his hips as he looked around

the open deserted landscape that ran for miles with not a single sign of civilization in sight. All

that met our eyes were distant mountains, a considerable amount of dying shrubbery, and a

barbed wire fence that was strewn across the side of the highway.

“Where’s the spare?” asked my mother troubled.

“I sold it back in Kalispell,” replied my father. “We needed the money.”

My father gazed at the highway and announced, “I’ll catch a ride to the nearest town, and

hire someone to come back and tow us to a motel for the night.”

“We can’t afford to be towed,” my mother exclaimed with a distressed look on her face.

“I’ll make it work,” my father replied with wavering conviction.

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He then hitchhiked his way to the nearest town which was around an hour away

according to the driver. As he drove off with the kind stranger I began to fill with dread. I was

scared that we might have to sleep overnight on the side of a deserted rode. We had roughly three

hours of sunlight left.

My mother continued reading her ruffled novel, while my brothers and I tried to find

creative ways to pass the time. Justin ran around trying to catch various wildlife like snakes or

lizards, while Dave, Mike, and I busted out the BB gun to shoot some grimy old bottles on the

side of the road. We set them up onto the wooden pole that held the barbed wire fence together

and gave ourselves about ten yards to shoot from. We each took turns one by one switching off

every shot.

As we arrived to the last bottle, it was my turn to shoot again. I was inclined to land the

final shot. I aimed down the sight very carefully and pulled the trigger. The pellet zipped through

the air and shattered the bottle into a firework of glass. But something was different this time. We

noticed something from inside the bottle flutter through the air after the burst and gracefully land

on the dirt.

We charged over to the shards to find out what it was. To our disbelief, we saw two

withered one hundred dollar bills lying beneath us. I could not comprehend what I was seeing. I

reached down and picked up the green paper and stared with astonishment at the portrait of

Benjamin Franklin.

“No way!” blurted Dave.

“I can’t believe it,” Mike remarked.

“Jackpot…” I said smiling.

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We dashed to our mother to deliver the good news. She appeared flabbergasted at the

sight of the cash. We explained how we found them in a filthy bottle.

“This is incredible,” she exclaimed overcome with joy. She pulled us all in for a hug as

she laughed with excitement.

Not soon after, my father returned with a man in a rickety tow truck. We sprinted to him

and described everything as I handed him the two hundred dollars. He warily took the money

from my hand. He began to tear up and embraced me in a hug. “This should be just enough to

pay the tow man, and replace the tire.” he said proudly.

He paid the tow man and we all proceeded into his truck. The truck only had a driver,

passenger, and middle seat to fit seven people. My father smooshed up against the driver with

Dave sitting on his lap, while my Mom snuggled next to him with Mike and myself on her lap.

Justin however was placed lying across the top of the dashboard, because it was the only place

he’d fit. It wasn’t exactly the safest trip back to the motel, but we survived.

We finally made it into town and stayed the night in a secluded motel for a discounted

rate. In the morning my Dad was able to get the tire replaced and we all boarded back up in the

boiling RV with a new found appreciation. Though this situation and occurrence was strenuous, I

felt it brought us closer together as a family, and I was proud to have been able to contribute in

some way. Even if it was through a fantastical circumstance of luck.