Chapter 2

Tidewater was not a big town, maybe not even a village as far as population was concerned, but it was large, acres and acres of land and timber. Omaha was the closest big city. There were a few strip shopping places between here and there but not much. 'Wally's World' and the Gun Club were about the only full service stores around, them and the 'Gas and Go. Everything else, even the feed stores were co-op or those who ran them ran several places. We did not have the so-called wooden sidewalks, but for the most part, everything, even Millie's dinner closed up by 20:00 hrs(8 pm); even earlier between November and March. Things got really cold and icy then. When he first arrived, it was May 2 and there must have been five or six inches of ice covering the roads, the roads, a lot more on the ground.

There was a truck pulled over to the side of the road. Huddled together was a lady and two little girls. They seemed to be asleep. The blue tint on their faces did not seem normal. The lady seemed to be better, she was shivering. Upon closer inspection, the girls had been eating some kind of blue candy and had fallen asleep. The only words that came from the woman were. "Damn truck!" and "Cold!"

"C'mon Milady, your chariot awaits." Ralph picked up both girls from the back seat, nodded to his car that was running behind them and helped them buckle up. Conversation was almost nil until Tidewater could be seen ahead. That the lady could have been scared never entered Ralph's mind. As they drew closer he was going to ask her where to go until he saw a Sheriff's car parked outside 'Millie's Diner'. He pulled up next to the car, walked over and opened both doors, front and back from the Subaru Forester SUV and got everybody out. The lady had a funny look on her face.

"I'm Ralph!" Let's get you inside, warmed up a might and I'll see if I can get your truck back here and fixed for you!"

As they went inside, with Ralph following, there was a scream from both the lady and the Sherriff mixed in with shrill screams of "Daddy, Daddy" from the two little ones.

If there was a better way for a 'stranger' to be welcomed into a new place, no one knew it. The look on that man's face said it all. Millie came out with a half full pot of coffee and took Ralph by the arm to the Sherriff's table. The Sherriff was still holding his wife and daughters, as Millie said to Ralph, "I don't think your going to be getting any speeding tickets around here son!"

When they all finally sat down, Ralph got a hug and kiss on the cheek from all three of the women he had saved and a nice handshake from the Sherriff. They talked, Ralph asked a few questions and at one, about if there was a hotel of motel in town, the Sherriff nodded. Millie came over.

"Millie, Ralph here needs a place to stay for a spell. Any room open in that boarding house of yours?"

Tidewater became the place that was to be Ralph's new home.

Bob Jones, Grandpa Jones as most in-town called him seemed to wear a bunch of hats. He was Mayor, Judge and Real Estate Agent for the town. When Jed, the Sherriff told him about Ralph and what he had done for Becky and the girls, well, that was more than enough recommendation for him and for Sam, the banker in town. Tidewater was small, as I said before. The times were tough now, even at the best of times, a farmer's life was hard. They both would do whatever was needed to see that Ralph settled here. In a way it was a conspiracy; the entire town seemed to be in on it. Wherever he went, Ralph was made to not only feel welcomed but made to feel that he had grown up there too. Soon everyone was calling him Ralph and he was calling them by their first name too.