The Life of Oddley - Episode 10

THIS WEEK'S EPISODE - "The Road to California", Part One

Hello, people, and welcome to the first episode of the third month of the series.  Now, many of you may have noticed that the serials have been contained within a single month.  The first serial was contained within the month of August and the last one within September. 

Let me tell you, that's not the plan here.  I planned the last serial for four parts but ended up writing five, and I actually wanted to start the series on July 28th, but due to a planning snafu, I had to move it a week.  This serial will be a three-parter and will finally get the series onto new footing.

That being said, back to the story.  Last week, Oddley finally broke the ice and got out a few words.  That lead to Rita mixing up a few drinks and Oddley downing those drinks.  After an long nap, Oddley shared his wish to leave Tulsa and continue his journey to the ocean.

Rita then tells Oddley that she will grant him this wish and drive him to California and the ocean.  Oddley, without any other option, agrees to the idea.  After a night spent in Rita's house and surviving breakfast with Rita, wearing a see-through nightie, Oddley and Rita finally get out to the car and when we last left off, they were heading out...

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As the mid-morning sun shone down, I saw the hint of the east Oklahoma landscape of farmland and oil derrecks. It amused me some that Brooke was now trapped and I was moving away from that city, this time with a new girl. It was a kind of turnaround that amused me enough to laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Rita.

"Nothing." I said.

"Come on, tell me." she said.

"Remember I told you about Brooke?" I asked.

"You did." she said.

"Well, it's because she's now marooned back there in Tulsa and I'm moving forward." I said.

"I wouldn't call it being marooned." she said.

"I would, and believe me, I've been trapped in worst places." I said.

"I see. You must live an interesting life." she said.

"I'm starting to, it seems. A few weeks ago, I was a mere supermarket employee, pulling an average $25.60 an hour wage." I said.

"Now what are you?" she asked.

"A man of many things. I've dabbled in science, I've joined a rock band, paid off a debt, and many more." I said.

"You also saved a person's life." she said.

"And he'll never get the chance to thank me for it." I said.

"He will, if things work out for him." she said.

"He'd probably pound me first, before he'd thank me for saving him." I said.

"You don't know that." she said.

"You may be right. I'll see if and when it happens." I said.

"That's the way to live." she said.

Within ten minutes of leaving the city, we passed Brooke's car, still sitting on the side of the road. That told me that she was still with Roy and hadn't phoned a single mechanic. That car had taken me this far, so I gave it a wave as we passed by it.

"What are you waving at?" asked Rita as I did.

"That car. It took me all the way to Tulsa." I said.

"Shouldn't be with a mechanic?" she asked.

"It should, but I know Brooke. She's probably crying at Roy's bedside." I said.

"You don't know that." she said.

"Listen, when I left her yesterday, she was all up about staying with him." I said.

"She might have changed." she said.

"Not likely. She was forgetting her husband back home and probably any children that she has." I said.

"Don't assume things, Oddley. It will only hurt you." she said.

"Only sometimes do I assume anything. Just when the facts can bear me out." I said.

"We'll see how it works." she said.

"Ditto, here." I said.

I was now moving further westward at last. The sun was shining bright and I was a bit happy to heading to California. It was a happy land, from what I heard. Television had shone me a land of movie stars, musicians, and artists. I was hoping to see if any of it was true, and if so, how could I get in on it?

Ten minutes after passing the car, I noticed that Rita was a bit pensive, as if she was fighting off something in her mind. Maybe she was having second thoughts about our trip to the ocean. Maybe she was studying my reactions to her way of life. Whatever it was, it might have explain the following scene.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" said Rita.

"Of course not." I said, thinking she was going to smoke a cigarette.

She reached inside her left vest pocket and pulled out a joint. She then pulled out a lighter from her right vest pocket. As she put the joint in her mouth, she lit it with the lighter. She put the lighter out and put it back in her right vest pocket. She then took the joint out of her mouth and let out a puff of smoke.

"Ah, I feel a little better now." she said.

"From what?" I asked.

"From whatever." she replied.

"I see." I said.

"Things just get to me and I need something to take my mind off." she said.

"That stuff there will do it." I said.

"I know." she said.

"Listen, if you're gonna do this, then let me drive." I said.

"Why should I?" she asked.

"Because if you're gonna get high, you'll be in no shape to drive." I said.

"You're absolute right, Oddley." she said.

It took us a minute to pull over to the side of the road, get out of the car, change places, and get back out again. Let me tell you, driving a car was a bit different than driving an old army jeep, but I got into it.

"You know, you're the second person who had driven me on this trip." I said.

"Who was the first?" asked Rita.

"Her name was Brooke, a runaway housewife. Remember, I told you about her." I said.

"She sounds nice." she said.

"Only at first." I said.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I don't wanna talk it right now. I just wanna keep driving." I said.

"Okay then." she said.

"Rita, do you mind if I turned the radio on?" I asked her.

"Go ahead." she said.

I turned on the radio. As it came on, I heard a classical music piece play.

"Could you change the station?" I heard Rita ask.

"Of course." I said.

I turned the tuning knob until I heard a country station. The station was playing a Merle Haggard song, "Swinging Doors".

"Good song." I said.

"What is that?" I heard Rita ask.

"That's Merle Haggard." I said.

"Who's that?" said Rita.

"He's a country singer." I said to her.

"You like country music?" she asked.

"Yes, I do." I said.

"You think you could put the radio on a pop station?" she said.

"You a fan of those rockers from California?" I asked.

"Yep." she replied.

"I like to keep it on the country station." I said.

"Fine by me." said Rita.

"Say, mind if I ask you a few questions?" I asked.

"Go right ahead." she said.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"Would you believe me if I told you if I came from Tulsa back there?" she asked me.

"Not in the least." I said.

"Good, because I'm not. I'm from Cinncinati." she said.

"I see. How did you get from there to here?" I said.

"The usual way." she said.

"I see." I said.

"You should do more than see." she said as the stuff took hold.

I then heard a noise come from within me. It was my empty stomach, growling at me because I hadn't fed it the lunch I promised it. I realized that drug-dazed Rita was not someone I should show off in public, so I decided to hold off on lunch until later, now turning my trip into an survival contest between me and my stomach.

Things soon got quiet. Not a sound. I could hear the D.J. on the radio say, "We had Merle Haggard before the break and he'll be at Cain's Ballroom here in Tulsa in two weeks and speaking of which, Charlie Louvin will be in Okemah next Friday and speaking of him, here's his big hit from last year, 'Will You Visit Me on Sunday?'."

Besides that, it was quiet as the morning dawn. It lasted for five minutes or so. My mind took time due to the quiet to sort what had happened since we entered this house. When I woke up this morning, I knew something different would happened, but not like this.

I took another look at Rita, smoking her joint and tried to figure out how she was. I figured out what she wasn't, based solely on what she was doing at that moment. I couldn't query further without hurting our new friendship, so I kept my opinions and questions to myself and kept on driving.

"Oddley, you look like a person who could use a trip." said Rita.

"No thanks. I'm trying to avoid drugs." I said.

"Drugs? This isn't a drug, this is a calmer." she said as she took the joint out of her mouth.

"A calmer?" I queried.

"That's right. This thing here keeps you calm." she said.

"I'll pass. I've got other things to calm me down." I said.

"Come on, Oddley, open your mind. You need to take a toke off this. It'll make you feel better." she said.

"I don't need anything like that." I said.

"You do, too. You may have been raised to think differently but I feel that what your parents tell ya is wrong." she said.

"My parents taught me right. I just don't do drugs. They can kill people." I said.

"Suit yourself." said Rita.

I kept on driving for as long as I could do. Finally, after two hours, my stomach was making a lot of noise and I was feeling faint. I needed food, so I began looking for a drive-in. Luckily, I found that I was entering a small town, so I knew a drive-in had to exist around here.

I did find one and I did pull off the road. As I pulled up to a stall, I remembered Rita, joint now gone and so was her mind. I knew that she would hurt me much if anyone found out that she was high, so I thought over my order.

I decided to get the both of us the biggest item on the menu, an thing called the Super-Burger. I decided that it was good enough for me and for when Rita comes off her high and demands a lot of food. I then pushed the button and waited for a voice to speak.

"Hello, and welcome to Billy Bob's Drive-In. Can I take your order?" said a female voice through the speaker.

"Yes, I would like two Super-Burgers." I said.

"Do you want some fries?" she asked.

"Yes, please." I said.

"And drink?" she asked.

"Two cokes." I said.

"Cokes!" snorted Rita.

"Let me see if I got your order. Two Super-Burgers, fries, and two cokes." she said.

"That's right." I said.

"That'll be $5.50, sir." she said.

"Thanks." I said.

"Your order will be ready in a few. Bye!" she said as the speaker shut off.

In my waiting, I started to scan the other stalls. As I scanned the stalls on the other side of the drive-in, I saw it, a police car. Inside was a cop. I couldn't make him out at first, but I did see that he was eating a burger, so I felt I was safe. That didn't stop me from keeping an eye on him.

"Rita, are you doing well?" I asked.

"I'm the best I've ever been." she said with a big smile.

"Good, because there's a police car here and I need you to tone down the flying." I said.

"No way, man. I'm flying and I'm gonna stay flying." she said.

"Please do it at a lower altitude." I said.

"I'll fly as high as I want." she said.

"That's my problem." I said.

"Let me take your problem. I take everyone's problems, it seems." she said.

"I keep my problems to myself, if you don't mind." I said.

"I don't mind. I don't mind anything. Anything, at all, as a matter of fact. Nothing's on my mind." she said.

"I hope you come down soon." I said.

"Maybe you should come on up. Come on." she said.

"I'll take a pass." I said.

"Why should you? It's fun." she said.

"No, fun is staying on the ground." I said.

"You're being such a killjoy." she said.

"I don't wish to be, but I must." I said.

"I can see that." she said.

"Me, too." I said.

Rita then lapsed into silence, which I enjoyed only a few seconds. That was because as I looked back up at the cop, he was staring back at me. I tried to overt my gaze but it was too late. He was getting out of the police car and he didn't look happy to me at all. For a moment, I wondered how I would travel without Rita. 

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How would he travel without Rita?  I know we've known her for just three weeks now, but we've come to like her and I know many of you do, too.  How will this showdown with the law will go down?  Tune in next week and find out.  Next week, Oddley makes friends with the law and the trip continues, with Oddley spending the night not alone, but he wish he was.

That's on Thursday, October 13th, at 2:30 pm, here on the John Maxwell Blog.

Until then, this is John Maxwell saying that we must keep an eye on those who want us to elect them, for an evil force can disguise itself as good.  Remember that next year...