Ann Providing the Counter Balance. The Post Office is their First Stop.A parcel has arrived for Able and Ann Abernackle. It came special delivery. Normally the CD Post Office delivers special delivery right to your door, but not in the case of the Abernackle’s. Able and Ann live at the top of Moon View Road. The locals call it Brown Shorts Drop. The name is self explanatory. Anyone foolish enough to drive it, considering the road seems no wider than an large sidewalk and has several drop offs that would give anyone the true feeling of free falling for several seconds, usually soil themselves by the time they reach the road’s end where it merges onto the Coastal Highway.
The road doesn’t seem to bother Able and Ann. They make the journey on a regular basis to pick up supplies, mail, and of course Sunday worship at the First Methodist Church in Cloverdale. Able and Ann’s ‘Going to Town’ transportation is Able’s old tractor affectionately called ‘Hickory’. Able figures the name adds a bit of character to a rusty relic from the days of the first gasoline engines.
As you see in the photograph, Hickory is missing one wheel. It dropped off several weeks ago on the slow descent down Moon View Road. Luckily Ann was sitting where you see her pictured. If her weight wasn’t counterbalancing the tractor the couple would have enjoyed one last thrill before Going to Jesus! They’ve been driving Hickory this way for the last few weeks while waiting for a replacement tire being shipped to them from a junk yard outside Warsaw, Poland. It seems the tractor is a bit peculiar. It is an old Polish communist tractor. Able joked that his beloved John Deere was really a Comrade Hickorovsky. This often repeated joke puts Ann into fits of jolly laughter. Ann is careful to bring her hand up to cover her mouth when she laughs. Life hasn't been kind to her teeth.
Spare parts for an old communist tractor are hard to find. Luckily Able and Ann's granddaughter Fanora has an internet connection and found a replacement wheel on Ebay. Fanora says that you can find anything on Ebay. Fanora used her Paypal account and ordered the wheel. The wheel has arrived.
Today, Able and Ann are making their last journey on three wheeled Hickory. Their first stop will be the Post Office to pick up their special delivery wheel shipped from Poland. Able is excited. He’s hoping there will be a few interesting stamps for his collection. After collecting the wheel the Abernackles will stop at the Food Amazatorium to pick up a few supplies. Their next stop will be the Auto Parts Store for the necessary tools to do the repair and attach the tire.
Cloverdale's Wimpy Burger.Home of the World Famous Clogger Burger
and the Confederacy's Best Chips
The last stop of the day will be to meet granddaughter Fanora at Cloverdale’s Wimpy Burger. Able and Ann promised her a special treat for helping find the replacement wheel. While Ann and Fanora enjoy a burger Able will attach the new tire in the car park. He should be finished by the time they finish their chips.
Fanora will decline a ride home on Hickory. She loves her grandparents but must think of her reputation at Cloverdale Middle School.
At the end of the day Able, Ann, and ever trustworthy Hickory will sputter their way home up Moon View Road. Ann will knit. Able will doze. Hickory will navigate and they will all enjoy the views and each other's quiet company.
This is what Saint Sheila, Hubby Lee, and HERcules will look like in a few years from now. This is what happens to people who teach teenagers for a period longer than two years....However, I have been missing a wheel for many years in spite of it all...:)
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