WAITING and WILDERNESS

"Here we sit like birds in the wilderness.... waiting for ...." we used to sing long ago in summer church camp. Waiting has never been any child’s favorite activity. So, when lunch was late, the bell had not yet rung for swim time, or campfire was delayed, we campers would raise the strain: "Here we sit like birds in the wilderness...."

To this day, I have no idea what "birds" or "wildernesses" have to do with waiting, or what they may have been waiting for. For us, however, faced with a delay in our anticipated activities, it made us feel like we were doing something forceful and bold. We bravely lifted our voices to protest our frustration: "Here we sit like birds in the wilderness.... waiting for ...."

I’ve thought of that song frequently over the past several weeks. At first we were not "sitting birds" but migratory as usual, when the "Check Trailer" alarm began to beep and show a cute little red picture of a trailer on our dashboard in the truck. That must have been when we entered the wilderness!

"What is that all about?" we asked each other in puzzlement. We stopped, and our pilot got out and carefully checked all the systems he could see. No visible trouble, so we drove on – carefully. The alarm continued to beep and the little red trailer light continued to flash on the dashboard.

What was going on? As we waited for the answer to our question, we began to realize that we were gradually losing power in the trailer brakes. Thank goodness we weren’t driving in the Rocky Mountains, but our personal wilderness was getting thicker and darker!

In more familiar territory, we stopped for a few groceries. Maneuvering the truck and 32 foot trailer around in a very small parking lot, the brakes locked up completely! We jumped to the conclusion that our waiting was over and the worst had finally happened: we were stuck far away from all known outposts of civilization with frozen brakes!

Now what? The clerk at the little grocery store was very helpful. He suggested someone for us to call for assistance. That phone contact proved very helpful, suggesting that certain wires be disconnected from the battery in order to free up the brakes.

Our trusty but frustrated "pilot turned mechanic" followed that phone advice. In doing so, he discovered something that changed his frown to a grin, surrounded by a royally red face! One of the tight turns required to maneuver in the little parking lot had dislodged the emergency brake-away cable! No wonder the brakes had frozen up. That’s exactly what they’re supposed to do when that cable gets disconnected!

We soon were back on the road, headed for Darke County, Ohio, our home territory. But, thru our chuckles over our "emergency", we could still hear the brake alarm beeping and watch the red trailer light flash on the dashboard. We limped slowly and carefully into our familiar campsite at the Fairgrounds. We were still in the wilderness – and still waiting.

A thorough check at a trusted RV repair shop delivered us from our wilderness of wondering – a brake shoe and the accompanying seal had been damaged beyond repair. It would have to be replaced and the other three probably would require the same drastic treatment!

How, when and where the damage occurred, we do not know. But, since brakes are a rather important part of a vehicle – at least when it’s stopping! – the parts are now ordered and we are scheduled for the replacement in a few days.

In the meantime, we wait. We wait, not so much like birds in the wilderness as like migratory birds awaiting the season for flight. But, we wait.

6/13/2007 - mshr

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