Road Notes

It was 8:37 am Sunday morning and I was headed up I-81 north of Morristown, Tennessee. Sunday morning means Camping in the Zone Time on The Big Talker 100.3 FM with Raymond Brody. If you have not been a regular reader since day one ( I think only Dad has been), Raymond Brody, the host of the show, featured my RV adventures down the East Coast last summer.

He and his father have two RV dealerships in Knoxville and Nashville called Campers Corner. Every couple of weeks Raymond would have me on his show via the phone. I updated him and his listeners on where I was and what I was doing. We talked about RV experiences and mishaps, cool people in RV camp grounds and family. All this from the inexperienced solo female RV perceptive. Of course I got an opportunity to plug my book, The Last Voyage of the Cosmic Muffin.

When Mom passed away we still did the show, talking about real life stuff – how precious life is, not wasting time, seizing the moment, no guarantees and family. He helped keep me up beat, reflective and moving forward despite the tremendous loss. I’ve never met Raymond. I admired his enthusiasm for RVing. I appreciated his professionalism and compassion when mom died. And he was a security blanket for this rookie RVer. I always knew I could have called for advice if I got into a predicament.

The show is available on the internet, but since installing security systems on my laptop, I have not been able to figure out how to get it on line. So I was pretty happy to tune in as I tooled up the road still 800 miles from New York.

Raymond’s dad does a spot called Buzz Time. (Buzz and his wife came to my book signing at Barnes and Noble in Knoxville last fall.) Today, Buzz asked how Raymond’s wife was doing. I was shocked to learn she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Tears came to my eyes.

I waited until the show was over. I called him.

I thanked God for letting me pass through Knoxville this morning, for hearing the show and for being able to get a hold of Raymond. It doesn’t seem like much, but I don’t think any of that was coincidental. I have thought about her, Raymond and the family all day.

Keep Beth in your prayers.