West Virginia

 If I told you that it all started when I got my first taste of  strawberry flavored ice cream at the ice cream truck would you believe me? Of course you wouldn't, you don’t know my story. If I told you my story, then would you? Well it's up to you to decide, but it began with the ice cream truck parked at a Shell gas station in the middle 0f nowhere. 

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I had been driving for over five hours, my butt was sore and I was in serious need of ice cream. I din’t even care what flavor. I was out in the middle of nowhere, somewhere between one side of Texas and the other side of Texas. I was completely lost, and that's when I saw the gas station I was so happy. It was a Shell station I think, but it was hard to tell, due to the lack of paint and the crumbling walls. There were scrubby bushes and an overflowing trash can full of rotting sandwiches, and salami. There were three gas pumps but one of them looked like it had gone through a war. And at one of the other two stations there was, low and behold an ice cream truck. I parked my beat up old sky blue mini van with the yellow horizontal stripes at the only station left. I hopped out of the car and made my way towards the ice cream truck. As I drew closer I heard a song coming from inside the truck…

I'm in my garden at home digging,

Digging up a flower bed! Ooh yeah. Whoo!!

I’m digging and I want some ice cream!! 

Some chocolate ice cream, yeah please!! 

I stopped next to the truck's big open window. 

“Hello?” I said. “Is anyone there?” 

A big man with gray hair, and a stubby beard looked down at me, simultaneously pushing his blood red rimmed glasses up on his exceptionally large nose. 

“What do you want?” he asked with a slur in his voice. “How about some chocolate ice cream?” He grinned at his joke. 

“Actually I'm a strawberry fan.” I said, standing up straighter. I had never tasted it before but thought that it would be my favorite if I had.

He sighed, “Girls always are.” 

I frowned and thought about that for a moment, “And I would like some vanilla caramel on top.” I said proudly. 

“Ok here you are.” He handed  me my ice cream. “That will be…” He considered for a moment. “Five dollars.”

I handed him the money. As I walked away he began singing again.

I'm in my garden at home digging,

Digging up a flower bed! Ooh yeah. Whoo!!

I’m digging and I want some ice cream!! 

Some chocolate ice cream, yeah please!!

I filled my tank and continued driving. After about half an hour I realized not only was I in the middle of nowhere, but I also had no clue of where I was out in the middle of nowhere. I had set out a few days back to just drive all through Texas, I really didn’t care where I went. Until the ice cream. I had felt a strange something in the back of my mind and I wasn’t sure what it was. Then my idea began forming, I wanted no needed to go to West Virginia. For when the ice cream man started singing his ice cream song, a different song was playing in my head. 

Almost heaven, west Virginia

Blue ridge mountains

Shenandouh river 

Life is old there, older than the trees 

Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze

Country roads take me home 

To the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain mama 

Take me home, country roads

It was completely unexpected, West Virginia was the place my dad had died in a terrible accident. He had been hit by a drunk driver on his way home to my Tenth birthday party. 

He had also sung that song to me so many times, I still remembered his voice, singing.

Almost heaven, west Virginia

Blue ridge mountains

Shenandouh river 

Life is old there, older than the trees 

Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze

Country roads take me home 

To the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain mama 

Take me home, country roads

I missed him. My mother, wrought with grief, had sent me away to my aunt and when my aunt died I was sixteen years old and I just left. I didn’t care what happened to me at that point. And there I was, twenty years old driving my beat up sky blue mini van, with the horizontal yellow stripes, out in the middle of nowhere after just stopping to get strawberry ice cream. 

“Almost heaven, West Virginia.”

I slammed on the breaks and rolled my window down. 

“Blue ridge mountains Shenandouh river.” 

I knew that voice. That voice had sung me to sleep many nights of my childhood.

“Life is old there, older than the trees 

Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze.”

I pulled over on the side of the road and got out of my beat up sky blue mini van, with the horizontal yellow stripes. 

“Country roads take me home 

To the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain mama 

Take me home, country roads.”

I ran towards a tall figure standing on the side of the road where I would never have noticed him before. with his back now stopped slightly with age, turned away from me. I stopped, because suddenly, I heard a new verse.

“I hear her voice in the afternoon she calls me, in her old mini van with the yellow stripes

She's driving down the road she gets the feeling she should be in West Virginia 

West Virginia.” 

My voice joins his, my fathers, my fathers! And we finished the song together.

“Country roads take me home 

To the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain mama 

Take me home, country roads.”

He wrapped his arms around me, and it all was unexpected.

The End

Do you believe me? My story is a jumble of words and sentences and does this sound familiar? Beat up sky blue mini van, with the horizontal yellow stripes. But whether you believe me or you don't, this is my story. My dad had not died, and as for what happened to him for all those years… only he can for sure say. 

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