I glanced at the clock on the dash of my pickup as I rolled through the four-way stop sign. The gentle green 7:08 a.m. glow painfully reminded me that I was once again several minutes late. I was sure my action was far from what would be considered a full stop, but I was counting on Tyler, the county sheriff’s deputy; and Andy, the state trooper, both locals who resided near the center of town, to be engaged in something more pressing than spying on Oakley’s lone stop sign. The only witness to my indiscretion was Chantry, the manager of the irrigation canal company coming from the north, as he slowed down and allowed me to continue on my westbound trek through town. He smiled through the cracks in his windshield and gave me a hearty and friendly wave. It was vintage Chantry – friendly to a fault, if that’s possible.
The circumstances that had placed me 10 minutes behind schedule that morning were put into motion hours before I staggered out of my warm bed at 5:30 a.m. and struggled mightily to get dressed and limp out the door to get the morning chores done. Every movement was a challenge, and with every labored step, pain shot up one leg and down the other. I was moving with all the vitality of a 95-year-old hit-and-run victim. My condition came courtesy of Gus, the big, stout gray gelding with whom I’d had a “come to Jesus meeting” the prior afternoon while I was sorting pairs to take to a field where the grass would hopefully hold out until I turned out onto my Forest Service allotment nearly four weeks hence. He’d had a little come apart where I blew a stirrup but was still able to pull him out of it after three or four respectable hops.
At the time, all seemed well – and by well, I mean that somehow I was still straddling the outlaw’s back, and he’d come to a stop and was ready to go back to work. I never claimed to be a bronc rider, and the joy I derived from a few crow hops 20 years ago was conspicuously absent this time around. I gathered my wits while I tried to stretch the charley horse out of my hip. That’s when I noticed the cramping hip was probably the least of my worries. When I found my stirrup with my foot and shifted my weight to straighten the saddle, I felt the unwelcome return of an old nemesis. I’m not a doctor, but I quickly diagnosed that I’d pulled my groin. I didn’t figure it was too serious, but it was severe enough that I was certain I’d have to put any future marathon training on hold for the remainder of the summer. All of this while I breathed in the smoke from the wildfire, moving into its second week, as it burned across the aforementioned forest allotment. I wasn’t having the best week.
Now, back to my nonstop at the busiest intersection in Oakley, Idaho. I was on my way to the high school where I was to meet up with members and fellow coaches of the girl's basketball team. We were headed to a summer tournament in Dietrich, and I was supposed to pick up some passengers at 7 a.m., and we didn’t have much spare time to make the 75-mile trip before games were scheduled to begin.
As I rolled into the parking lot of the school, my phone buzzed with an incoming call. I glanced down and noticed that it was Chantry. My first inclination was to ignore the call, but I answered the call despite my surly demeanor.
“Hey,” the uber-cheerful voice on the other end of the line chirped like an early-morning robin. “Can you do me a favor?”
Surely he could tell I was busy. Why else would I be down in town at 7 in the morning? “What in the world does he want from me?” I wondered. I had a lot on my mind and on my plate. I didn’t really need anything piled on this morning.
But the chill of the morning and my otherwise sour mood melted like a dab of butter on a slice of freshly baked bread when Chantry gently, but with the exuberance of a kindergartner on his first day of school, exclaimed, “Can you please have a wonderful day?” I mustered a weary and grateful smile as I answered in the affirmative and requested the same of my cheerful friend. My attitude was instantly flipped on its head. I was on my way to a very good day.
