Member-only story
Ghosts
At the most unexpected of times
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
- Socrates
Upper Shenandoah
Blue Ridge Mountains, Va
June 1996
I worked at the time as an independent contractor for a package delivery service. When a pharmaceutical company requested an emergency delivery of heart medications to a hospital in the mountains I took the call, wondering just how it was possible for a hospital to run out of heart medication. I told the dispatcher that after the delivery I would take the rest of the day off then drove to my son’s, Jacob’s, school, signed him out early and we headed west by the quickest route. Someone at the hospital may have made a mistake on the job but I would not slack in mine.
With the delivery completed, and no real reason to rush home, we decided to take the winding route 29 to Staunton, then pick up the highway back to Richmond.
We spent the afternoon exploring back roads in the mountains. It was past sunset when we descended into the valley on a winding road, in a tunnel cut through the dark by the headlights, and as soon as we reached route 29, I asked Jake to help me watch for a sign to the highway. He nodded then craned his head to see through the darkness. I drove along in silence for a few moments as the sky darkened and filled with…
