Never Rob Someone of Their Ability to Give
The Race to Daytona
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"Dad, I want to ask you something," Charlie started, ready to deliver the plea he'd rehearsed with his mom the night before, "And before you say no just hear me out. The Daytona 500 is this weekend, and I really want to go with you. I know it's a very long drive and that it would be inconvenient to take off from work this time of year, but I'm fourteen years old now and we've never gone on a trip just the two of us. And racing is the one thing that we both love. I'll pack all of my own stuff, and I'll be a great road trip buddy. Can we go!?"
Stephen looked at his boy that he loved so dearly and wished he could say yes. But he couldn't. Daytona must be like a forty hour drive from Boise, and he was in his busy season at work.
"Sweetheart, that sounds amazing," he started, the corners of Charlie's lips inching upward, "but I just can't. You know it's the busy season at work, and I get a significant number of my sales this time of year."
Charlie's shoulders slumped, the light fading from his eyes.
"It's ok dad, I figured we couldn't. We'll just watch it on TV together like we did last year."
Charlie went off to school, and Stephen had a pit in his stomach the rest of the day.
At the dinner table that night, his wife turned to him and said, "You know honey, Charlie's going to have his driver's license before we know it. He'll be out and about with his friends and won't want to hang out with us as much. Then he'll be 18, graduate and leave the house for trade school. I know you have great justifications for why you can't take him to the race, but you won't get many more chances like this to bond with your son. I love you and respect whatever decision you make. But I encourage you to make the decision that you'll be most proud of later."
His wife was like a surgeon. Pushing the exact right buttons with precision.
Stephen swallowed hard and went silent for a full minute then said, "You're right babe. I'll take him. I know I won't regret it."
His wife beamed at him, exclaiming, "Amazing!"
"But we need to leave tonight if we want to make it on time without having to rush."
He told Charlie, who initially thought his dad was pranking him, and then was literally jumping in the air with joy. They packed up in twenty minutes, like only boys can, and hit the road.
Charlie was giddy with excitement and didn't fall asleep until 1:00am. Stephen drove another couple hours and pulled over at a truck stop in Omaha, NE to sleep for a couple more.
When they woke, it was 6:00am on Saturday morning. The race started at 1:30pm the next day, and they had twenty-one hours left to drive.
They drove a little ways and stopped at a diner.
They ordered, and as they waited for their food, a man sitting next to them at the bar said, "Hey guys I overheard you talking. You're going to the Daytona 500!?"
As they ate they talked to the old man who told them of how he'd always wanted to go and that he'd never missed seeing a race. He told them of the time when rookie Ron Bouchard passed Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte at the finish line in '81 in a photo finish. He rehashed the story of David, the Giant Killer, passing J.J. Yelley with ten laps to go in '08, and bragged about how he had told his friends that he "had a good feeling about him" early on in the race.
"I have some old Jersey's that I haven't worn in years," the old man said. "Come by my house real quick and I'll give you two of them to take with you."
Knowing they had already been there for forty minutes, Charlie started to object, when Stephen cut in. "That would be amazing. We're in a hurry though, how far is your house?'
"It's just around the corner."
Following the man in his truck, they realized the man must have a different understanding of just around the corner. After going down several dirt roads and being stopped by a train, they arrived at his house a half hour later. Charlie's fingers drummed impatiently on the dash the entire way.
The man told them to stay in their truck and emerged ten minutes later holding two old, but pristinely kept jerseys.
Stephen thanked the old man, shaking his hand vigorously, and left.
Once the windows were up and Charlie was sure the old man couldn't hear him, with a dramatic groan said, "Dad what was that about? We just lost nearly two hours!"
"Son, I could tell that that man had very little. I heard him ask the waiter if he could pay for his bill tomorrow when he got his paycheck, and I knew he'd lost his wife and never had kids. It seemed very important for him to do something nice for us. Grandpa always used to say, "Never rob a man of his ability to give...plus, now we have the sweet jerseys!"
They sped on, trying to catch up on lost time. If they didn't have any more interruptions, they'd still make it to Daytona five hours before race time.
They listened to all of their favorite bands. Skynard, Allman Brothers, Charlie Daniels.
Noticing a "check engine light," Stephen pulled over. He peeked behind the hood and said they needed to grab some oil.
After topping up, they sped on, their cushion down to four and a half hours.
They traveled down Nebraska, through Missouri and Kentucky before they reached Tennessee.
They made it all the way to Nashville when they stopped for gas and some snacks. They were ten and a half hours from Daytona.
After filling up the truck, Stephen walked inside to find Charlie chatting up a disheveled looking cashier whose teeth suggested she hadn't been to a dentist in a very long time.
"It sounds like quite the road trip you boys are on, dad," the lady said.
"Yes indeed!" Stephen said, as he searched for a few snacks.
"This one reminds me of my grandson," she continued, "They moved back to Kansas several years ago and I don't get to see him much anymore."
As she was checking them out, she reached out to touch his arm, crying, "My gosh honey, you look terrible! You must not have slept since you left Boise! You need to rest if you're going to enjoy that race at all. Why don't you boys go to my house and get a few hours of shut eye? I don't get off 'til six, but I'll call my husband Travis, and he'll help you out.
Stephen hesitated, and then said, "That would be a huge help, miss. That'll be a lot better than napping in our car again. You sure it wouldn't be any trouble?"
Behind the ladies back, Charlie's face flushed, mouthing, "What!?"
Charlie's jaw began to relax under the pressure of Stephen's intense stare, his breathing returning to normal.
Following her directions they arrived at her house fifteen minutes later. A double wide with a large deck in the front. They were greeted by Travis, who, in his pajamas, had obviously been woken up by his wife.
As they entered he said, "It's not much, but it does the trick for us. Excuse the mess. I'd have cleaned up if I'd have known we were havin' company."
"This is more than we need," the dad said, looking at his son for approval.
The friendly man must have been on strict orders to let them get straight to sleep. They exchanged a few minutes of small talk, he showed them the couches they'd be sleeping on which already had two blankets spread out over them, and he left them.
When the lights were out Stephen whispered to Charlie to see if he was still awake. "Pssst."
"Hey dad, I'm awake. You don't need to say anything. I get it. 'Who are we to rob that nice lady of her ability to give?'"
Stephen smiled, but his wrinkled forehead showed signs of concern. They would not be cutting it close.
He set his alarm. They'd sleep for three hours, hit the road and still hit Daytona with an hour to spare.
They slept for what felt like only ten minutes, and then got back on the road.
Charlie slept for several more hours. Stephen drove on as they neared the Florida state line.
The check engine light came on again, and he decided he'd drive another fifty miles to Jacksonville where he could get oil and fill up on gas at the same time, saving them a second stop.
Twenty minutes later they hit traffic.
Being much too late to be rush hour, Stephen wondered what was going on.
When they hadn't moved for fifteen minutes, Charlie let out a heavy sigh. "Are we gonna make it dad?"
"Of course buddy," Stephen replied as he bit his nails, glancing at his watch. "It's two and a half hours until race time, and we have less than two hours left to drive."
Stephen got out of the truck to walk up the berm on the side of the highway and see what was going on up ahead.
He saw a car overturned, fire trucks, ambulances, the works.
"Local radio's sayin' it could be hours before it's cleared up," a lady said to him who had walked up beside him.
His stomach sank. They weren't going to make it.
You had to stop, didn't you Stephen, he started to berate himself internally. Charlie will be devastated.
When he got back to the door and told Charlie, the boy turned away to hide his tears.
Couldn't tell them "no thank you." You had to set an example, Stephen thought, feeling ashamed for letting his son down. Well look where all of that's gotten you.
After a few minutes in silence, Charlie turned to his father. With a small smile, he quietly said, "It's ok dad. More than anything I just wanted to hang out with you. This has already been the best trip of my life."
Stephen forced a smile but couldn't shake the fact that it had been his fault they wouldn't make the race on time. He felt a heavy weight in his stomach.
Twenty minutes later, someone walked past their car and they heard him yell, "There's a detour right up ahead that they're sending everyone through. Let's roll!"
Hope reignited, Stephen and Charlie looked at each other and started laughing. They high fived. "Let's go!"
The cars started moving slowly, and then more quickly.
Just as the pit in Stephen's stomach was subsiding, the boys heard a loud knocking noise coming from the engine.
"NO!" Stephen yelled. "Nooooo!"
"What?" Charlie pleaded. "What's wrong?"
"No, no, no, noooo. This is not good Charlie," Stephen said in a soft, resigned voice, pulling over to the side of the road. "That must be the rods knocking, and the engine is probably bust. There must be an oil leak. I saw the engine light come on and wanted to push it until Jacksonville."
He got out and lifted the hood. He shut it moments later, shoulders slumped, pulling his hair.
He looked on his phone for a towing company.
Five minutes later a truck pulled up behind them, and a guy got out. "Y'all doin' alright?"
Phone to his ears, Stephen said, "Yeah thanks man, I think I let the oil run out and the engine's bust."
"Well isn't that somethin'. Well lucky for you, the right man stopped today. Been a mechanic for twenty-five years. Lemme check 'er out."
The man looked behind the hood for a few moments, and then shut it.
"Well the good news is, it ain't bust. You just need a new belt, and I'd be more than happy to help ya with that. Bad news is it's Sunday, and I take the Sabbath seriously. Won't get to it 'til the mornin'. Where ya boys headed anyway? Idaho plates. You're a long way from home."
"Daytona. We drove all the way from Boise to see the race," Stephen said, still on hold, some of the heaviness lifted at the prospect that his engine wasn't totaled.
The man furrowed his brow, and glanced into the truck. He glanced at his watch.
"I'll tell you what," he said, "I'll take you the rest of the way, and I'll get your car back to you in the mornin'. You and your son will go and watch that race and have a nice night in the city."
Stephen hung up the phone. "You can't be serious," he said. "That's a four hour round trip for you!"
The man glanced into the truck again. "I took a trip like this with my boy before he graduated and joined the service," the man replied. "We drove to the Smokey's and camped out for four days. I'll never forget it. You'll have to pay for the belt repair, but it would be my honor to help you boys out."
It would mean the world to Charlie, Stephen thought. But we can't put this man out like that. What he didn't notice was that it was mostly his pride that wouldn't allow it.
"That's an incredibly generous offer, but we couldn't possibly take you up on that."
As the man was about to insist, Charlie, who had been listening to every word, yelled to his dad, "Dad, will you come here a sec!?"
"Hold on, lemme see what he needs," Stephen told the man.
"What's up buddy," he said leaning over to look through the unrolled window. He looked tenderly at his son, knowing how disappointed he must be.
"Dad," Charlie said, "Who are you to rob this man of his ability to give?"
Stephen took a deep breath and was silent for a full minute. Then he smiled and whispered, "You're right."
He stood up and looked at the mechanic, his eyes reflecting gratitude, "Alright. We'll take you up on your offer. It's generous beyond belief. I can't tell you how much we appreciate this."
The mechanic smiled, "No problem! We'd better get going then! I'll have my brother scoop your car up."
Stephen and Charlie hopped into the truck, sharing stories and music tastes with the mechanic during the ride. The mechanic told them his nephew had just gotten his license, didn't have school tomorrow due to the holiday, and would be thrilled to drive the truck to pick them up in Daytona. They'd drop the nephew off on their way back home. Stephen started to object, and the mechanic laughed it off, as if he had no choice.
Stephen and Charlie looked at each other and grinned at how fortunate they were.
They reached Daytona a half hour late, the roaring sounds of engines echoing in the distance. Charlie hugged the mechanic, "Thank you, sir. You're a lifesaver."
As the race cars zoomed around the track, Stephen hugged his son tight, who had given him more than he could ever imagine.
