To Lend or Not to Lend-That is the Question

It was my second year of college. During the first year no freshmen were allowed to have cars on campus.

The Patriarch generously decided that I could have a car my second year. It was a a beautiful 1962 Dodge Lancer-baby blue with blue seats. The most benevolent Patriarch had only one simple command to HarleyNotThenDad---"Thou shalt not lend out thy vehicle." I was a dutiful son, and I took the Patriarch's command seriously. I progressed through my sophomore year until the following event occured.

None of my roommates had vehicles. I was the one most fortunate and most blessed. Two of them were ministerial students. One of my roommates made this plea.

Oh, HarleyNotThenDad---"I am in the most dire straights." I have no vehicle. But tonight is the night of all nights. I want to take my girl friend Jeannie to the Cameron Park of Necking and Delights overlooking the beautiful Brazos River. There I shall ask Jeannie to marry me and be my bride forever, so help me God.

Could I refuse my roommate, Michael? Could I spoil his one chance of happiness and bliss? Of course not. I loaned him the car. I swear on a stack of Harley Magazines that it is the one and only time that I disobeyed the admonition and advice of the Most Wise and Benevolent Patriarch.

So my Roommate leaves to meet his beloved and do the honorable thing-as any ministerial student should.

Several hours pass. Then I get a telephone call that goes something like this:

" Hello HarleyNotThenDad, I have some bad news for you."

What is it I ask.

" Jeannie and I are in the hospital. "

Are you OK, I inquire.

"Yeah, we are not hurt too bad."

Where is my car? I ask.

"It is in a tree."

How did it get there?

"It fell off the highway when we were coming down from Lookout Point, and it landed in the top of a tree."

You are kidding, I say.

"NO, it is in a tree."

Well the car was in a tree. It was totalled. Michael had asked Jeannie to marry him. Jeannie had said yes. And I had no car.

Now that was the easy part. The hard part was to make the phone call to the Benevolent Patriarch who probably was not going to be too benevolent.

My phone call went something like this:

Hello Dad, there has been an accident.

"O my goodness, were you hurt."

No fortunately Dad I was not hurt, but my roommate who was driving was hurt as was his fiance.

"Didn't I tell you not to loan the car out! I am very disappointed in you son."

To tell the truth, and every word of this is the truth, I do not remember too much after that. Michael had a slight head injury and as a result I must have had some memory loss. All I know is that it was a mess, and I did not have a car for some long time after that. All of the other details have passed into the mist of time.

I guess I know kind of what Adam felt when he disobeyed just one simple commandment: "Do not, I said do NOT eat the fruit of that tree of knowledge."

To lend or not to lend, that had been the question. I had answered "to lend" . That was the wrong answer. Only one disobeyed command, only one lost vehicle. Now that is batting a thousand.

This is a strange but unfortunately true auto tale of my college years.

By HarleyDad