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Donna Flood
A Dangling Sports Car


There was a loud cracking sound coming from behind the two car garage. Donetta rushed to the windows of the middle bedroom and east side of the house. Peering through the slats of the blinds gave her an understanding of where the sound originated.

Hanging off and balanced on the edge of the hand-built ramp was their sporty little light blue car. It had not fallen but, was resting three wheels on and one front wheel off. The cracking sound she heard was the breaking of the boards as her husband drove the car up onto the device he himself built in order to have the auto up in the air. In this way he could work under it.

Their marriage was young. Donetta was thoroughly pleased to be settling into the place where she grew up. The old house was coming alive once again with her care and the days of its isolated neglect were soon becoming a thing of the past. Her husband too seemed content there even though it was a place away from anything he knew well. He was raised in the little oil field town which was decorated with amenities of the easy wealth in that area spread around to the people.

Now, instead of being frightened or peeved by his misjudgement in building a ramp out of wood which was destined to come down with that weight on it, she was instead, trying to find a solution to the problem. They had to have the car. One did not live out in these back areas without transportation. There was no possible way it could be driven off the ramp. One little push either way and it would certainly come down all right, but with what consequences to the car?

"You will have to walk down to the neighbors, so I can go into Foraker to call my brother, Martin. Actually, he could have walked to Martin's since their ranch set above the old home place about maybe two and one half miles. It could be easily seen on the next rise over. However, she didn't know if he was home and even though they had to drive five miles to get to the phone in town it was easier than barging in on his family unannounced, even though this was the country where that was acceptable at the time, she wasn't comfortable with doing it. The time she was away from the area had already introduced different values and manners to her thinking.

When they got to Foraker she used a pay phone at the little bit of a grocery store which was only partially there. Mostly they only had snacks, cold pop, bread and such. There were some cuts of meat but, not many. An occasion to shop there rarely presented itself and she felt a little sheepish in having to explain to her brother their predicament while the small group, always there, was listening. She could see the expression of quiet control as they heard about the car balanced there on the ramp out at the Old Jones Place.

"You say what?" Donetta's brother asked after she told him what happened. She knew he was politely not laughing at least until he hung up the phone and then he would, no doubt, probably, go into hysterics at the vision of seeing their car in his mind setting half on and half off a hand built wood ramp. Nevertheless, she didn't crack a smile either, not even on the telephone.

"Well, Okay?" "I'll be over there in a bit." "Soon as I finish up what I'm doin' here."

Gratefully Donetta told him she was certainly not going anywhere and would most definitely be waiting for his help.

There wasn't much of a wait when they came back onto the grounds of the ranch place. This was always such a peaceful place around and about. Somehow, she couldn't see the gravity of what just happened. The fact that the car could have fallen off, rolled on her husband, possibly even doing terrible harm never occurred to her. Instead, in her youthful confidence in her brother she simply reassured her husband that he would know what to do.

When her brother drove up in one of his larger trucks she did not interfere with the men and their discussion as to what had happened. Standing back at a distance the young woman watched the men as they visited about the predicament. If her brother was about to split with laughter he was able to control himself with only a broad grin on his face while he discussed the matter with her husband.

When the talk was finished she was watching closely as the men went quickly about the business of getting the car off the ramp. There was a winding down of a huge cable with a very substantial hook at the end of it which was commonly called a wench. The securing of the hook to the car underneath did not prepare her for what was about to transpire. Just as easily as one might be having a cup of coffee and quite as nonchalantly, slowly, but steadily, the car was totally lifted until it was literally dangling in the air hanging at the end of the large hook and cable. With the car pendulum like this the truck simply moved away from the ramp, and as easily as it was picked up the little car was again set down, first onto its back wheels and then totally to the ground with the front wheels lowered not to cause one bounce or rough movement.

These were the days of youth and a bold joy for life. The thought of anything dangerous or impossible did not come to the mind of her brother who would prove to conquer the unconquerable all through his life. This among other things to have gone on with her husband was adding up to a decision for Donetta to help him with an education and into a less challenging environment.


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