Lillie Amman started a group project with a wonderful theme–It’s Funny NOW, But Then …

My story happened several years ago, when my wife and I were driving my parents’ car from Chicago to Boston. The car was a Toyota Camry, back when they were small and uncomfortable.

After driving for over 12 hours, we reached Rochester, New York. We were exhausted. All we wanted to do was find a hotel room and crash. As luck would have it, Kodak, which is headquartered there, was holding some gigantic meeting, so there were no hotel rooms to be found. It was now about 1:00 am and we were exasperated and freezing.

To keep warm and awake, we stopped at a 7-Eleven for hot coffee and started driving semi-aimlessly, hoping to find a motel on the outskirts of town. Before long, we were completely lost with no clue how to get back to the turnpike.

I pulled off the road and fumbled around for our map. It was pitch black and I couldn’t find the Camry’s interior lights. Aggravated, I started pushing any button I could find, but all I managed to do was open the hood and the gas cap. As my fumbling and groping continued, I knocked my coffee off the dashboard and it spilled all over my lap. OUCH! I jumped out of the car, screaming, more from frustration than pain. My wife, always the patient one, finally calmed me down, and off we drove. How long would this slapstick tragedy continue?

Eventually, around 3:00 am, we found lodging at a rather seedy motel in the middle of nowhere. But just as we were getting into bed, my wife saw a mouse darting across the floor. Now it was her turn to freak out. I doubt if we got more than half an hour of sleep before we had to hit the road again.

At the time, it was the road trip from hell. But over the years, all my wife and I could ever do was laugh about it. I think the experience actually brought us closer together, which I suppose is common when people face adversity together. We’ve taken many driving trips since, but nothing quite like that has ever happened. I’m not complaining!