It's hard to believe our lives might somehow be connected in such a way that our future is preordained. But as I've pointed out once you examine how you arrived at where you're at in life the events responsible can often seem uncanny. And somewhat humorous as well!
In 2002 my friends Tom and Dennis who as I said grew up in the same small town as myself, a real version of Mayberry on the Andy Griffith show, decided to travel to North Dakota to look for investment property while doing some bird hunting. They had rented a small house in a whistle stop of a town in rural North Dakota and traveled the area looking at parcels of land. Dennis had already purchased some property south of the area so had some experience with the process. Tom had found a listing he wanted to explore so with the help of the county plat book set out to locate the parcel. Dennis was driving. The access off of county roads into a lot of this country is by section line roads which are unimproved dirt lanes basically that ranchers use to access pastures and fields. They may or not be passable at various times of the year due to water and snow cover. Well after some deliberation as to where this parcel was and how to get to it Dennis proceeded down a section line road overgrown with weeds and grass. Now as they were proceeding double checking the map at the same time then looking at the land on either side of them it would have been difficult to anticipate what would happen next.
It was a bumpy ride but a passable lane as they worked their way a mile and a half off the county road to a ridge overlooking a small lake and several pot holes to the west. A beautiful view and certainly the type of terrain to hold birds as well. Not paying attention to the speed at which they were advancing down this less traveled path the vehicle suddenly rose up and came down with a "thunk". Hard. Forward progress had stopped and it was obvious it was time to get out and see what happened! Upon further inspection it was noted that transmission fluid was leaking from the filter cover punctured by the large rock they had landed on. Out in the middle of nowhere on a section line road with a truck stuck and disabled the prospects were not good to say the least!
There were a few problems here. They were stuck. The truck needed to be repaired. Parts ordered. They needed a vehicle in the mean time and who could help? Well calling information using their cell phone for garages in the area gave them basically one shot. There was a little town about 6 miles away that happened to have a listing called "Willies Place". Upon dialing they got an answer from a guy with a German accent that said "Hello..Ya this is Willie" Dennis explained the predicament and tried to describe where they were at and Willie said in a matter of fact way " I know just where you're at and you better not try to drive that truck so I'll be right out with the wrecker" These guys thought incredible! Well it wasn't long before they saw an older model pickup with a winch on back that was the "wrecker". Introductions followed and the damage was surveyed. Dennis at best just needed a new cover for the transmission filter and a refill on fluid. It was a fairly easy task to free up the truck and get it hooked up for the trip to "Willies Place".It made a curious picture with Willie a retired German farmer turned mechanic riding along with Tom a pretty big guy in between Dennis being well over 6 feet tall all squeezed into the front seat of an old pickup towing Dennis's new truck! On the way they explained they were looking for property as well as doing some bird hunting. Willies said "Well you guys are going to need a vehicle because it's gonna take a couple days for me to get the parts and get that truck fixed." They're thinking yeah so tell us something we don't know! They arrive at Willies a short while later and upon inspection Willie confirms the issue and checks on parts availability. He could have the filter cover the next day! Then he says " You guys just go ahead and take my pickup so you can keep hunting. The keys are in it." Dennis also had his Shorthair Fritz in the truck along with all their gear of course. These guys were just a little caught of guard by Willies hospitality having minutes before been total strangers so Dennis says " Well do you want my name and drivers license number?" Willie replied " Your names Dennis right?
And that's the story of how Tom and Dennis met Willie and were introduced to the hospitality and simple ways of the rural culture that surrounded them. The vehicle was repaired as promised the next day and they then got to meet Willies wife Joann which is another great story but anyway on subsequent trips that year Tom purchased that parcel of property. In addition having been taken in by the friendliness of Willie and his wife Joann decided to purchase a house in town that had belonged to Joann's mother who had recently entered the local nursing home. " Just like dominoes" starting with the truck literally being between a rock and a hard place if you will we would all eventually be drawn to this country and these people.
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