When you read this I have come to the end of the trail, rode
off into the last sunset, cashed in my chips, however you want to say it. I’m
history … gone from this world.
I started writing this in August 2011 when I went from being
on the liver transplant list, hopeful and waiting for that phone call, to the doctor
telling me the cancer had come back big time. They told me the transplant was
no longer an option and said, “You should get your ducks lined up, boy.”
Well, I am prepared for when the end of the trail comes and when
it forks, I’m taking the high road. I have always wondered what was over the
next hill. Now I’m going up the biggest hill and I won’t need any brakes as I
won’t be going down the other side.
As you would imagine, I have been a lot closer to God the
last couple years. I have been a believer for a long time. How could one not be
after roaming around this country for 68-plus years, 45 of them in a truck
admiring God’s handiwork? I believe Christ died on the cross for all, and my
sins were forgiven. I think about an old song recorded by the Carter family
called “Fifty Miles of Elbow Room.” What I take away from it is – if you don’t
hit the gate to heaven dead center, there are 50 miles on either side. I hope
so. A few of us who are not perfect could probably use a little wiggle room.
I’m going to miss family and friends, especially my wife
Geri. We married in ‘74, but I will see her again plus all the others who will
come along and those who have gone ahead.
I’ve had a good life, did what I was meant to do, be a
trucker. Not to worry about me. I’ve been in hospitals – mostly for outpatient
treatments, including the VA near my home in Lafayette, IN, and Riley
Children’s Hospitals – and I would have to be blind not to see people worse off
than me. I’ve even had a retirement gig writing for Land Line Magazine using a talent (so they
tell me) that I didn’t know I had. God given is the only explanation and it’s
been a joy.
A few regrets, mostly not completing my “bucket list.” Geri
for years has wanted to go to the Holy Lands. I wouldn’t because I was afraid
of flying over there with all the unrest in those countries. I regret it now.
Another on this list was getting a 30-day Amtrak pass so I
could be bored and visit friends around the country. I also wanted to go down
the Grapevine on a skateboard.
Recapping a lifetime in a blog is impossible, so by the time
you read this I’ll be swapping stories of life on Earth and have eternity to do
it.
We are all travelers on this Earth, passing from one
eternity to the next, from the sweet grass to the packing house. So, for now, so
long.
Bob Martin aka “Cowpoke”
