I do hope that when I get to heaven, they will have cars to drive. Maybe they’ll have car shows for my heavenly fun too. I still see some gorgeous vehicles passing by the Henry Hilton as I do my morning workouts on the ramp. I’m glad Summit had some car shows last year too as they had been cancelling them due to COVID. I love the way some vehicles look and actually admire some of their neat sounds. I grew up working on cars with my dad, and I know I’ve bragged about the fun part of Jackson, Ga. being when all the car dealers came out with their newest models We’d ride there on our bikes, collect brochures and admire the latest and the greatest. Our dad was the lead mechanic at the local Chevrolet place and we LOVED watching the little videos showing engine upgrades and other things of interest.

I grew up living not too far from a railroad track and loved hearing the trains going by after bedtime and hearing them blow their horns. Interestingly enough, when I was a mortgage loan officer, the VA turned down a property because they said it was too close to a train track! There was also another odd rule back then and that was how many bedrooms required per number of people that would be living in the home. I still remember asking my loan processor what was her favorite type of loan for me to bring to her. And she told me VA. I said “WHAT? But, it always takes so long to get the appraisal!” She nodded, and agreed with me on that, but said veterans ALWAYS had all their paperwork and if she called them to request any updates they instantly asked when she would like it brought to the office. (Some customers got a little aggressive with us, but never our veterans.)

I was saying my evening prayer last night and once again I could hear a train off in the distance, and heard the train’s horn going off too. It reminded me of falling asleep back in my early teens to those warm sounds. It’s amazing that I can hear it that far away. While Norman was at Westbury rehab, that was one of the things he enjoyed and that facility is much closer to the train tracks. When we were still pre-teens, sometimes our family would take a trip over to Crawfordville to visit my mom’s parents and their rented home was right across the street from the train track. Again, more great nights sleeping in that old former funeral home. I never heard any trains at our other grandparents’ home in Washington, Ga.

I did get to hear airplanes when I was working in College Park very near the Atlanta airport. Our boss had us all walk outside one day so we could watch a Concorde take off for the first time. I thought it was so neat that I could hear pilots calling in their information over my car radio! Somehow their words would come in over whatever local radio station I was enjoying on my commute to work. My Ford Fairmount would only pick up those pilots while I was on 285 near the airport.

I still enjoy hearing those big jets soaring over as I’m outside reading my latest library book. I like hearing some of the smaller personal airplanes too. My dad’s youngest brother, Uncle Jerry, had a small plane and he once had to land it on I-75 when the engine failed. I’m glad he never asked us to fly with him! I think it’s neat that a Mt. Bethel member flew his private plane over an outside funeral we had for another member. SO BLESSED!

Beverly Wittler has four children, eight grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. She lives in McDonough.