Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Great Smokey Mountains, a ’67 Beetle and a Body

During my college years, my spring breaks were nothing like Beach Blanket Bingo, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini or any other bad 1960s beach movies.  [There was the Bahamas cruise during my junior year but all I did there was discover that it is a REALLY BAD IDEA to enjoy tequila shooters while tossing around on rough seas.  REALLY.  BAD.  IDEA.  REALLY.  Just take my word on this one.]  Our laid back breaks were probably due to the fact that we partied so much focused so diligently on our studies during the semester we needed spring break to recover rest.  So, the year that I flew to Tennessee to visit a friend for the week, was nothing out of the ordinary.  Our plans were to spend the week hanging out in Nashville (I had never been there before) and drive back to SC the weekend before classes resumed.  We enjoyed nice weather and exploring Nashville and, at the end of the week, we packed up Sheryl’s car and began our eight hour journey back to school.  The trip should have been pretty much uneventful, and would have been had it not been for the NEAR BLIZZARD that had suddenly decided to descend upon us through the Great Smokey Mountains (which could easily have been called to Great Ican’tseeadamnthingthroughallthisblowingsnow Mountains.  Oh, did I mention that Sheryl’s car was a ‘67 Volkswagen Beetle?  No?  Is it relevant, you ask?  Ha!  What it meant was that we cruised up those curvy mountain roads at a staggering 25 mph.  And THAT was with us leaning forward.  It also means that our 8 hour trip back to school turned into a 12 hour ride.  Of course, as college students, we pretty much took everything in stride and, once out of the mountains, (no, we didn’t think of going back…we were COLLEGE students for Pete’s sakes) resumed our uneventful return to school.  Until approximately 30 minutes from campus.    

 We were on the last stretch of two-lane road before reaching campus, just tooling along at the actual speed limit when we thought we saw something up ahead in the oncoming lane.  It was difficult to tell just what the object was because there was no visible moon nor street lights which meant that the only light hitting the road was from the ’67 Beetle.  As we got closer we were both leaning forward and squinting to see what was in the road.  Sheryl slowed the car down to a crawl so we could get a better look.  Apparently we both realized what the object was at the same time because, in unison, the screams began!  Holy Crap!  It was a body!  A male body lying across the width of the oncoming lane.  And it was NOT MOVING. At. All.  We didn’t know what to do.  Our minds were racing just as quickly as our hearts.  It’s almost comical looking back now on the ensuing conversation if for no other reason than we were shouting:          

“WHAT DO WE DO?!”
“I DON’T KNOW, GO BACK?”
“NO!”
“THEN WHAT?”
“I DON’T KNOW!”
“WHAT IF IT’S A LIVE BODY? OR A PRANK?”
“WHAT IF IT’S NOT?”

We didn’t make it much further up the road when we turned around to go back and investigate.  We decided to drive slowly, but not stop.  If the body was there, we would turn around and go get the police (remember, no cell phones back then).  Almost as comical as the shouting during the first conversation is the fact that we began whispering as we got closer to the dreaded spot in the road.  We made sure the windows were closed and the doors locked as we traveled at a snail’s pace towards the place we saw the body lying.  After all, we would have to go into the other lane to drive around the body and, if it was a prank and it jumped up---well… 

“It was here, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it had to be right here.”
“Where is it now?”
“I don’t know, I don’t see anything.”

We continued our slow search until we were absolutely certain we had indeed come to and passed the exact place in the road that we had seen the body.  Sheryl turned the car around and we cruised back one more time.  Nothing.  Just the black of a night with no visible moon, the silence of two stunned college co-eds, and the putter of a ’67 Volkswagen Beetle. 


25 comments:

  1. Eeek! That's scary...I'll have to sleep with the light on tonight. ;)

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  2. And the morals of these stories is: Never travel with you. On land or sea. Never.

    (Though if you come to Nashville again, I'm not far away. I'll put you up free!)

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  3. Interesting story. Scary though. My BIL had a volkswagon we use to cruise the back roads with. Thanks for the memory.
    Take care and have a blessed day!!

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  4. That's wild. Wonder what happened.

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  5. That is just major creepy. I wonder if you would be telling the story if you got out and checked on the body.....

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  6. Ah the great memories! Great story, but I am sure not at the time.

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  7. Carol- it was the strangest thing!

    Beverly-good point! LOL

    Julie- They were sweet little cars, and it certainly got us through the mountains in a blizzard!

    Eva- I have no idea, but it was the freakiest thing.

    Michelle- Probably not! Good thing we were more scared than curious!

    Tote- You're right, NOT at the time! LOL

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  8. All I could think of, was what your poor parents must have gone through, knowing you drove through such a storm. :)
    What a scary ride! All the way up to the end. But a story to tell. :)

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  9. Betty- you're like me. Friends of Breezy and BestSonInLawEVER are moving to San Francisco for his job and all I thought was,'Oh I can't believe they're taking those children so far away from their grandparents! LOL

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  10. Wow! That's a freaky story! I'm glad the body was gone and you didn't have to get out to check on him!

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  11. Kara- We wouldn't have gotten out for anything! There was nothing but woods on either side of that two lane road...we would have gone for the police though.

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  12. That was crazy! Sounds like someone had fun pulling a practical joke. Weird!

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  13. Ahhhh... makes me think of some of the good old days and the crazy things that happened.

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  14. What a great story. Too bad you don't know "the end."

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  15. Great story. Too bad you don't know "the end."

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  16. Egads that is really creepy. If that had been more recent I might have said you might have found Elvis. I owned a 68 bug and yes going over a mountain was a slow grind :-)

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  17. Judy- that's what we THINK happened. We also HOPE that's what it was! LOL

    Caterpillar--to this day we have no idea.

    Michele-ah yes, the good old days. I'm surprised I survived them! LOL

    Robin- I know. We still wonder from time to time. But, because he wasn't there anymore after only a couple of minutes, we figure it was a hoax.

    Jeff- it was creepy! Elvis--LOL

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  18. That's why they say don't drink and drive right?

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  19. Mrs.-I almost wish we were drinking at that time, at least then I would know we were seeing things. LOL

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  20. I once drove from Tucson Arizona to Murray KY in a 73 Volkswagon. Ugh. But I did learn how to drive a stick on the trip. Great post.

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  21. alpha- That must have taken FOREVER! LOL

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  22. That reminds me of a question I posed to a co-worker the other day.
    Somehow we were talking about haunted hotels (reminds me I need to post that story) and I asked her if she believed in ghosts.
    She responded - "Don't know, haven't seen one yet."

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  23. Spooky! Y'all needed a big dog like me to protect you!

    Y'all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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  24. Spooky!
    Y'all needed a big dog like me to protect you!

    Y'all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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