Grandma Lu was getting tired. She had had quite the day. A mouse in the car was the last thing that she needed. Thank goodness her husband had told her to stop and have the auto shop check out her car. Sure enough that mouse had made a nest out of her air filter. She had been driving for about four hours and still had about six hours to go before she got to the Double D Ranch in Texas. She loved that place because her ancestors had owned it from generation to generation. It had a silver mine on it that had caused problems among her family members for years. Some wanted to mine it some did not. She was the last in the line to own it so she had made the decision to make the ranch into a rescue for abused and unwanted horses and other large animals. There was plenty of money in that account to keep it operating for a good many years.
The big mining company said they had mineral rights to the mine because of a boundary dispute that she thought had been settled years ago. It was that dratted step-brother that had this started all over again. Well it would stop with her and her lawyer and all would be over and done with.
She saw a sign on the road for a filling station and decided to stop and fill up and find a motel for the night.
"Self service gas stations just have never been a good thing in my estimation. Oh when I was a teenager we had what they called full service filling stations. That's just what they were too. Mercy, I remember my best friend's dad would let her drive the car on a weekend night after she got her driver's license. He would write down the mileage and check it when she got home so that he knew she wasn't putting too many miles on his car." She chuckled to herself about those days. "I always had to pay for the gas. Yes, I did. She always knew I had change in the bottom of my purse because I never used my change purse and spent very little of my wages on myself. Change. Yes, change is what was needed to buy gas in those days. I remember so well the man who owned the filling station we went to. It was a Skelly station. That rich oil man Getty fella bought them out if I remember right. You don't see Skelly stations anymore. The man that owned that station's first name was Ray just like my dad. He wore a uniform and a bow tie and and hat. He would check all the fluids in the car even check the air in the tires if we asked him to. To fill the car up with gas was usually about a dollar. Wow those were the days."
"When he was finished he would put out his hand for his money and off we would go. He never was exactly pleased when my friend would hand him my dimes and nickels and even occasionally some pennies. I remember going inside one time. There was only cans of oil and other stuff for cars and trucks that I never wanted to buy. I can remember dipsticks and funnels and gloves. Exciting stuff. It smelled like gas and oil too. Nowadays there are all kinds of fun things like t-shirts and food, and magazines, even toys for children. That reminds me I need to buy some magazines and some snacks and ask if there is a motel close by. I'm ready to rest for the night."
Grandma Lu paid for her gas with a credit card and pulled her car up to the building so she could buy her things and ask about a motel. As she was looking through the magazines she shook her head. Just look at what children read nowadays. Mercy. It's all Bam Boom and Zap with guys like Batman and other super heroes. In my day comic books had Little Lulu and Veronica and Archie and Jughead and even detective comics that I loved to read. Dick Tracy was a good one. Of course, Dagwood and Blondie were fun. He was always in trouble."
She looked at one with four little boys dressed up in costumes she had seen on television. Spiderman was all the thing. She smiled at the boys. She had to admit they were cute, but had no clue about the story inside. Maybe someday she'd have to catchup on the story about that Spider character.
As she looked for a good magazine she chuckled when she saw a magazine that she knew little girls would love. "Look at that little princess, but she looks so sad. I wonder why. Well, I'd better get up to the desk and get directions to the nearest motel and be on my way." But on her way there she decided to go back to the shelf and buy that little princess comic and see what it was all about.
The clerk at the desk told her that there was a motel just a mile down the road right off the highway. It was clean and modestly priced. They even had breakfast in the morning. Grandma Lu was so pleased. She would be in Texas about one or two o'clock the next day. "I'll get my business done, give the Journal to the lawyer to have it put in the State of Texas Museum for all to enjoy. My family did have an interesting history; not all good, but interesting." She adjusted her hat, got in her car and headed down the highway.
The man driving the motor home turned to the young woman and said, “ You know what you have to do. When she gets to the motel I’ll distract her and you grab the journal. It’s worth big bucks to the right people and will set us up for life.”
