My 'American Pie'

I was born and bred in Brooklyn and with any luck I'll die here too. I say this without reservation because after travelling a decent chunk of the planet, and every corner of America, I know New York City is the best place on earth.

Notwithstanding, there are a few places I would consider living outside of New York. Lake Tahoe is one of them. With mountain crisp air, the snow peaked range surrounds a twenty mile lake, creating a picturesque backdrop for hikers, skiers, fishmongers, and any purveyor of outdoor recreation.  Tahoe’s south shore provides multiple casinos, restaurants and nightlife, providing activities for every traveler. No wonder the Corleone family took a summer residence there. Regardless of the weather, Lake Tahoe is the Garden of Eden.

On my first winter trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains I rented an SUV and thought I was unstoppable. With ten feet of plowed snow on the side of the road, I was cruising like a champ while winding up the incline and along the east shore of the lake. My coat was tossed onto the passenger seat, the music was turned up, and the car's heat was blowing gently on my feet. The late afternoon sun was starting to set over the western range, casting a mirror reflection on the emerald water of America's deepest lake. That's when I encountered the first warning sign on the road.

The exact wording eludes me now, but I bet the bullet riddled sign still hangs up on the trail. Zooming along, like in a winter car commercial listening to 'American Pie' on the radio, the sign said something like 'road closed during inclement weather.' On the Tahoe map, the road went from a marked county road to a steady solid red line. Then a large red and white barrier arm was also seen in an upward position- like an undeployed railroad crossing. Alongside the contraption was a solar powered flashing red light. Singing aloud, I surged by this eyesore in the snow without a care in the world, “…Them good ole’ boys were drinking whiskey and rye…”  I never even noticed that no other drivers were on the road but me.

As the sun motioned over the magnificent range, I safely pulled over. With a disposable camera in hand and the radio still blasting, I stepped out of the SUV and snapped a wonderful photo from the road. Returning to the rental- without another vehicle in sight- Don McClean's melody was still heard from inside the SUV. Crossing back, I pulled on the door handle, and realized my Brooklyn instinct had kicked in. I reflexively locked the door while exiting with the engine running. 

Peering into the rental, the setting sun was shining directly on the coat on the passenger seat. Suddenly the whistling wind through the trees became evident along this recently opened, or recently closed trail. Inside the vehicle the music still played. Turning toward the majestic lake, and standing on the red-lined road, I heard the line “…This’ll be the day that I die…”  Glancing toward the mountains, I shuttered thinking about the fate of the Donner party who were also snowbound in the area before resorting to cannibalism.

The frustration only lasted a moment before I pulled out my cell phone and called 911, but then I stopped. I thought about how embarrassing it might be to call 911 and have to admit that some unprepared dummy from New York City had locked himself out of the car. Looking through the tinted windows of the backseat I saw the road map lying open.  On the bottom of the map was a corner advertisement for a ski rental shop.  Now, walking back and forth across the wind swept road, hand held skyward while searching for a cell signal, I resembled a half-assed statue of liberty. Cellular service was terrible a few years back, and probably still is around the lake.

“…This’ll be the day that I die…”

After many dropped calls, I finally got through to the ski rental shop. A young girl answered.
“Please don’t hang up,” I said, “This is not a prank! I'm trapped up on the eastern side of the mountain.  I'm locked out of my car like a dummy.  Can you please call me a tow truck?”

“Did you pass that big thingee on the road with the flashing light?” She said.
“Yeppers” I said. Then we were disconnected.
 When I called back she told me they called the local tow truck driver and he was en route.
“The tow driver wants to know what kind of vehicle you’re driving?” She said.
“It’s the only vehicle on the road past the thingee with a fat guy with no coat on hugging it SUV for warmth.” I said, then we were disconnected.

Through the entire phone call American Pie was still playing. I hugged the body of the idling truck for warmth, and sung out loud to nobody "The three men I admire most. The Father the Son and the Holy Ghost, they caught the last train for the coast the day the music died." As the song ended, I wondered if the tow truck would arrive before I froze to death. Then I laughed.

Perhaps it was this ordeal, or one of many others that have shaped my outlook during times of misfortune; but I have adopted the ability to step outside a terrible situation, while it’s happening, and see humor in it. The strategy helps too! Not only does laughter release anxiety, but it makes one analyze when an event is dire, and when it is just an inconvenience. I say all the time during a bad situation “If I'm going to tell this story at a later point and laugh, then might as well laugh as it’s happening!”

Fortunately the tow truck driver arrived in 20 minutes. He literally took one minute to air bag the window and get me back into the truck.  I immediately put my jacket on and thanked him.

He handed me a bill for $75. I gave him a c-note and told him in exchange for his hard labor he would have to take a photo and capture my moment of stupidity on top of the mountain. Sure enough, he obliged. The photo did not come out as well as I hoped, but I still have a warm fuzzy memory every time I hear ‘American Pie’ on the radio.

Comments

  1. You always come through.... Pure genius.

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  2. You always come through...! Pure genius! Thanks for the laugh & inspiration - as always!

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  3. Screamin! I love that you hugged it for warmth!!!

    ReplyDelete

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