The Return Trip

The Buckinghams and the Hennings gathered in the living room of the Buckingham family home. The Hennings were returning to Ohio the next day so everyone was was making good use of the evening together by singing some songs and just enjoying each other's company. 

The children had spent some time in the afternoon playing Kick the Can which was a form of Hide and Seek that had been introduced to the Henning children by the Buckingham children on one of the Buckingham's previous visits to the Henning farm. The game played like Hide and Seek except that “Base” was replaced with a large coffee can that had to be guarded by the seeker. The hiders had to kick the can without being tagged in order to win. In order to prevent this from happening, the seeker usually maintained a position as close to the can as possible. The hiders often tried to hide within view of the can so that they would be able to see when the seeker got far enough away from the can for a hider to swoop in for the kick. These specific game dynamics added a layer of complication that had caused the game to become one of the children's favorite games to play together. The size of the two families combined made it very interesting because the seeker had to watch out for as many as twelve different hiders when all the children were playing.

Jim Buckingham stood in the middle of the living room with his guitar and accompanied the musical requests of the group. They sang a number of different hymns and worship choruses together with several of the older children breaking off into different harmony parts whenever they felt comfortable. At one point, Scott suggested that the group sing one of the songs in a round. The way a round usually worked was that half of the group would sing the chorus of a song while the other half sang the verse. This only worked with a limited number of songs because the tune of the verses and the tune of the chorus had to mesh well with each other on the timing and the notes. 

Upon Scott's request, Jim mischievously agreed to give it a try. He began turning in a circle as he played the song and subsequently suggested that they could also sing the song in triangles and squares. Everyone in the room laughed at his literal interpretation of the musical suggestion as Scott tried to explain what he meant when he said “rounds”. They figured it out eventually.

Finally, the night came to a close. The Hennings made their way to their guest quarters and turned in for the night. They returned to the Buckingham home in the morning for breakfast and a prayerful send-off. The Henning family piled into the van and waved all the way down the driveway.

Kelsey pulled out the used envelope that contained their directions and turned to Christa.

“Okay,” she began. “Here are Dad's instructions for getting here, but he didn't write any directions for getting home.”

“That's not a problem, Joybug,” Christa replied with a smile. “All we have to do is follow those directions backwards.” (Kelsey's middle name is Joy. At some point in her early child hood, she was being unusually difficult. A family friend commented on what a bug she was being and the moniker Joybug was born. 

“Okie dokie,” Kelsey responded.

The directional discussion that emanated from the van faded into the background as Scott immersed himself in his book. He didn't care how they got home. He enjoyed the freedom of being able to do what he wanted without having to worry about the logistics of his transportation. So, when the increasingly frantic discussion from the front seat became too loud for him to ignore, he had no idea what was going on.

“What are they talking about?” Scott inquired of his baby sister who was ten years old at the time.

“Um,” Kerry began. “I think we might be lost.” 

Indeed, they were lost. In following the directions backwards for their return trip, Christa had neglected to make one critical adjustment. Instead of getting on the highway and choosing the on-ramp that led back towards Ohio, she had gone the wrong direction. It only became evident to Christa that she had made a mistake an hour or two later when she started seeing signs for large cities she had no intention of passing through. Christa got off the next exit and pulled into a Wendy's parking lot. She told the kids to sit tight as she went inside to check for a payphone. (For the younger generations, a payphone was a type of phone that was available for public use. The phone was mounted on a wall, pole, or in a booth and usually included a phone book that was chained to the phone mount. The caller would deposit a quarter in exchange for a certain amount of time to make a phone call. Before the widespread use of cell phones, one could find a payphone on nearly every corner. Now, they're practically nonexistent.)

Christa returned to the van and instructed her children to follow her inside. Scott and Kelsey got in line to buy frostys for themselves and their younger sister as Christa lifted the phone from the cradle. Christa, having found herself to be short on change, dialed the number listed on the phone for making a collect call. (A collect call is a call where the recipient of the call agrees to pay for the cost of the call.) The phone rang twice before someone on the other end of the line answered. (The phone always rang twice before it was answered at the Henning home. This was per Dale's instructions and was a hold-over from an even more distant time in telephone history. When Dale was living at home with his parents, the phone they had was on a party line which was a communal phone line that was used by multiple households. At that time, if the phone didn't ring twice, the call wasn't intended for the Henning household and they were not to answer it. Old habits do indeed die hard.)

“Hello, Hennings- Luke speaking.” 

“You are receiving a collect call from New York. Will you accept the charges?” the calm voice of the operator inquired of the eleven-year-old at home.

“Luke, it's mom. Say yes,” Christa instructed her fourth-born. 

“No!” Luke exclaimed before abruptly terminating the call.

Christa stood with her mouth agape in surprise and confusion as the dial tone sounded out from the receiver. (It occurs to the author that a dial tone is also approaching extinction with the phasing out of landlines. My, how times have changed.) She dialed again, hoping for a different result. Unfortunately, she was once again shocked and confused when she failed to convince her son to accept the charges. She tried one more time. Ring... Ring...

“Hello, Hennings- Luke speaking.”

“You are receiving a collect call from New York. Will you accept the charges?” 

“Luke, it's mom. Say yes! Please say yes!” Christa cried from the Wendy's in New York.

“Um, okay,” Luke finally responded after an agonizing pause. “Yes.”

“Oh thank goodness,” Christa sighed as the call clicked through. “Luke, is this is mom. Is your father around?”

“Yeah,” he responded happily. “Hey! Guess what? I just answered two sales calls and I hung up! She even told me to say yes but I didn't!” He finished this statement with great pride.

“Luke,” Christa sighed in complete exasperation. “Those weren't sales calls. Those were collect calls from me because I don't have any change. I guess we never explained that to you kids.” 

“Oh, well,” Luke paused. “Here's Dad.”

Dale took the phone from Luke and answered. He listened as Christa explained her circumstances and then waited for instructions from her husband. The children enjoyed their frostys as their parents hashed out the details of the trip home. Dale gave his directionally challenged wife detailed directions for the return trip from the on-ramp closest to the Wendy's from which she had called. Finally, the four travelers splashed through the parking lot that was wet from the rain and climbed back into their van. Armed with fresh directions, they set out for a second time for home.

“Hmm,” Scott mused to himself hopefully. “Maybe we'll get back after the chores are done.”