Wish Me Luck!

This morning, after walking six fast miles, I cleaned up, and then I made two phone calls. I called Kinky first. Then I called my dear friend, Cindy Pickard. "Hi, Cindy, I just wanted to let you know that Tone and I are fixin' to head your way."

"That's great!" Cindy said. "I'm exhausted and ..."

Twenty-five minutes later, Trigger, Tony and I were in Vanderpool, Texas, at Cindy's ranch. Cindy was outside, loading up her Toyota FJ with boxes. "Greetings!" Cindy said to us. "Thank you so much for coming over."

I got out of the truck. "Hi, Cindy," I said, as Tony slowly backed Trigger up to her, older than our trailer. Cindy's dogs started barking at Tony. We were there to pick up some stuff, that Cindy wanted to keep, but didn't have the room to take with her, to her new ranch in New Mexico.

"Tony, that bunch of boxes are the ones I need for you to store for me," Cindy said. Tone, Cindy and I then started putting the boxes into the back of the truck. Within twenty minutes, we had all of her boxes loaded. Then Cindy invited us to come inside her trailer, to show us what little was left inside to pack up.

When I walked inside her nearly vacated trailer, that she was leaving behind for the new land owners, I teared up for a second, but was able to shake it off, before she or Tony noticed. I guess that's when it finally hit me, that Cindy was really leaving, and it brought back so many memories: some sad, some happy. "Wow, Cindy," I said. "I feel like we've gone full cirle here. It's hard for me to explain. It's like a closing of a chapter in my life."

"I know," Cindy said.

"Seeing your trailer empty like this, is exactly how I first saw it, over sixteen years ago, when Jim and I helped you and Andy move you from Austin to here. Remember, that cold front that had just blown through, and it was colder than cold? That was one long cold night. In fact, Jim and I didn't get back to Austin until after two in the morning, because the roads had iced up."

Cindy remembered. We visited a little while longer, then Tony told us, that it was time for us to leave, because we needed to get back to the rescue ranch.

On our way back to the truck, Cindy picked up a large beautiful, hand painted, ceramic turtle. She told me that she wanted me to have it. I took it, and then fought back the tears that were trying to fill my eyes. "I'm sure going to miss you, Cindy," I said.

"Me, too," Cindy said. "Y'all need to come see me as soon as you can. And, I have to come back here in the next few weeks, to finish up the documentary with Andy, so I'll definitely come see y'all then." Then we said goodbye to each other. As Tony and I drove away, down her dusty caliche dirt road, I teared up, but I couldn't stop the tears.

"It's all going to be okay, Nance," Tony said. "We will go see Cindy soon, and she will be coming back and forth to work with Andy, too. And, I think that you and Cindy need to learn how to Skype."

Cindy called me this evening, for the very last time from Vanderpool, Texas. "I'm finally all packed! And I'm leaving the first thing in the morning. Thank y'all for helping me. Wish me luck. I'll see you in a few weeks! Bye."

It's starting to rain with thunder and lightning off in the distance! I hope we get some rain.

Y'all have a great evening!