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Red Truck on the Road!
Red Truck
Red Truck
In March of 1977 I had to work in the Dairy Products Building in Springfield, Illinois on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The 90 year old building was going to be stripped of white paint in an “acid-cleaning” process. That meant our Taylor Freezers (milkshake machines) had to be moved or they would be harmed by the acid spray. These weigh over 800 pounds each but they are on casters. I decided to move them into the walk-in cooler which would get them out of harms way. It took me most of the afternoon. About 6:00 pm I went to MCL cafeteria for supper.
After eating I bought a bag of chocolate-covered peanuts; filled the gas tank with 90 octane gas and started up I-55 for Bloomington-Normal. The wind picked up. The temperature was dropping There was a slight mist was in the air. I noticed that the left hand lane was glazing over but the right hand lane was clear as most cars were staying to the right. Our pickup had a large “box” above the bed and it tended to act like a sail in catching the wind. The radio was playing. I was popping candy. There was a box filled with cartons of dry wall screws on the front seat.
Twelve miles south of Bloomington I came out from an overpass. The gusty wind caught my truck and headed me over into the left hand lane. I gulped and counter steered quickly. Too quickly! The front tires caught the dry pavement but the rear wheels were sliding forward. I spun the steering wheel to the left and the truck started to roll over. A few thoughts hit me as I felt it going over. I had just filled the tank up with high test gas and the filler pipe was right behind the driver’s seat! “Lord, save me!” I cried out as the truck slid along the concrete at over 50 miles per hour. The noise was deafening. I was sure that the window glass would break and my throat would be cut by shattered window glass. I could see the shower of sparks about 2 or 3 inches from my head and knew that the gas would spill from that full tank and set the truck on fire. My seat belt was fastened. Chocolate covered peanuts and dry wall screws flew everywhere. The radio kept playing and finally the vehicle came to a halt. No fire! Whew!. I unfastened the belt and was thanking the Lord that my window did not break. The truck was lying on its side in the exact middle of the road. Right on the center stripe!
A trucker saw what had happened. He had stopped his truck, climbed up on top of our pick-up and opened the passenger door on the left hand side. I stood on the steering wheel while he grabbed my arm and pulled me up out of the wreck.
Within minutes an Illinois State Trooper came up and started directing traffic around the vehicle. He looked at me and commented, “How did you do this! You are one lucky guy to be alive!”. He issued a $70 citation for driving “too fast for conditions.” A tow truck was able to tip the truck up on its tires and tow me to a truck stop in Bloomington. When I saw the damage, I realized what the Lord had done. The side mirror and handle had been completely ground off in sliding along the highway. The front edge of the fender and the rear corner of the “box” had been grinding away...but not a drop of gasoline came out of that full tank. This had protected the “filler cap” from being broken off. To this day, I thank the Lord for his provision!
Psalms 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”
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