The Eagle Magazine
"First Road Trip of the Year
I love road trips. I have some friends that actually hate them. They hate to drive, they hate to sleep in a strange bed, they hate having to eat out...they really hate everything about road trips. I'm on the opposite end of that spectrum.. I love a long drive, I love restaurants, I love good motels. I do want you to notice that I did not say I love all motels, I love good motels. There is a very big difference between a well-run Holiday Inn Express and The Coach Light Inn found off I-20 in Louisiana.
It was the mid 80's and I was on deputation with the GPA as a Missionary to Wales, UK. We were travelling back from Arkansas I believe, and it was very late. Helen had already driven several hours and I was trying to make it through to Marietta, GA. I saw the sign for the Coach Light Inn up ahead, advertising a very low rate for a room. I woke Helen up and said, this looks pretty good and I don't think I'm going to make it through the night, let's stop there and get a room. So...that was not the best decision we made on that trip. I paid for the room, got the key and hustled the kids into bed. I was asleep before the light went out. Almost immediately, someone was pounding on our door. I got up and opened the door, but did not unlatch the chain, you know what I mean? If you've ever stayed in a low rate room, you do.
The man was obviously intoxicated and was asking for Bill to let him in. I said there is no Bill here, you have the wrong room. He apologized and I closed the door. Before I could get back to sleep, I heard him pounding on the room next door and shouting at the top of his lungs, "Bill! Let me in! It's cold out here!" Well, it was July in Louisiana, probably in the 90's even in the middle of the night, but that's what he was yelling. This went on for about 20 minutes and then he started singing some old sad country song. He sang the same line over and over and each time he got louder. I finally called the front desk and complained.
The manager came out to the guy and asked "what's going on here?" The drunk guy started crying and said, "Bill won't let me in." Then he started yelling again, "Bill, it's freezing out here, please let me in." I could hear the manager explain to the guy that there was no one in that room and the guy then yelled, "What have you done with Bill?" The manager then said "Sir, if you don't leave I'll have to call the police." I looked over and the kids were sound asleep, Helen was in and out, I had the Big Eye, no way I was going to sleep now, I thought.
Then it quieted down, the drunk was mumbling the old country song, but it was fading out and after a while I dropped off to sleep again. Then we were all awakened by a police siren; we could hear a scuffle as two officers were picking up the drunk and hauling him into the squad car. Then we heard another voice yelling, "Hey, what do you guys think you're doing? That's my brother!" At this point, I was up with the door open and looking out. It must have been Bill about four doors down standing outside his room in his PJs yelling at the police. "That's my brother. He wasn't bothering anybody. You cops are all the same!"
"Get up...get up everybody! We're getting outta here!" I yelled. Five minutes later, we were five miles down the road never to stop at the Coach Light Inn again. Well, nothing like that happened on this trip; it went great from start to finish. We left Nottingham on Tuesday afternoon, January 24th, picked up Emma Beamer and headed for Kodak, Tennessee, about half way to Gulfport and Mercy's Vessel. We spent the rest of the week on the ship. Helen and Emma cleaned the kitchen and crew cabins. I got the wonderful job of cleaning the toilets. And you thought the President of the GPA only supervised the work? Not this time! On Friday, I painted all day with four other guys, two from Unity Baptist in Ripley, MS and two from Lee's Chapel in Mill Creek, MS. Good news is we finished the fair weather decks and stopped the surface rust from getting any worse.
Saturday night, we went to a nice restaurant, The Half Shell Oyster House. The "Oysters Orleans" there are the best; I ate over half dozen of them, all by myself, as well as shrimp and cheese with bacon grits. It was a great night! Then we visited two great churches; Sunday morning we were at Faith Baptist with Pastor Dan Carr; and Sunday evening, I preached at Lee's Chapel No 1 Baptist Church, don't you just love that name? We had a great time at both. Lee's Chapel is in a beautiful new building and decor suits the location perfectly. I had great liberty to preach and the folks were so very friendly. I can't wait to get back there again and I am planning on a trip in May for a little maintenance on Mercy's Vessel.
Sunday was our last day in Mississippi, we left Monday morning heading for Lawrenceville, GA and a family visit. Maybe next time, I'll tell you all about it.
