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THE MYSTERY RIDER
Robert H. Gilbert, Jr.
June 19, 1992
    It was almost dusk as I left New Jersey in my big rig, heading for Dallas.  This was Monday, and I had to be in Dallas by Wednesday morning.  I was glad to be leaving the East Coast with their “No Left Turns,” just U-turns.
    As I crossed the line into Maryland, I thought it was too quiet in the cab of the truck.  I realized that the radio was not on.  I found a station that was playing country music (of course).  As I listened, I began to sing along and tap my hand on the steering wheel.
    While I was doing this, two kids in a car pulled alongside of me.  The passenger looked over at me, then shook his head.  I guess he thought I was crazy or something.  I did not care; I was going home.  If I made Dallas on time to deliver my freight, then I would have some free time to spend with my wife.  Our children are on their own now, so it’s just the two of us . . . with seven dogs and one cat.  I guess you could say that we still have a family to raise, after all.
   The radio station I was listening to took me into Virginia, but I lost it in the mountains.  Being lazy like a lot of people, I pressed the seek button.  The radio finally stopped on a station after going through the channels at least three times.  The song that I heard was How Great Thou Art.  Liking the song, I listened until it was over, then I changed stations again.
    About halfway through Virginia, I got another station.  Like the other station, this one was playing Gospel songs.  This time it was Nearer My God To Thee.  I was beginning to wonder about this radio.  Why all of a sudden could I only find Christian stations?  Oh well, I didn’t really mind.
    As I got to the Tennessee line, I knew I could find a country station.  Sure enough, I did.  But only for a little while.  Another station cut in, and it was playing The Old Rugged Cross.  This was becoming a weird trip.
   As I reached over to hit the seek button one more time, I spotted three crosses in a field next to a house.  Now that was strange.  After I passed those three crosses, the music stopped.  Now what was going on?  I could hear country music coming on the same station as the song that had just finished playing.  I decided to turn off the radio for a while.
    When I reached the Arkansas line, I turned the radio back on and changed the station without waiting to hear what was playing.  Wouldn’t you know it, it stopped on Amazing Grace.
    The only time I had heard that song playing was at funerals.  But I was still alive and well, and hoped to stay that way for a long time.  For some reason, all these songs that I had heard meant something, but what it was I did not know yet.
    I decided it was time to pull over for a while and get some sleep.  I found a rest area, pulled in, turned off the lights, locked the doors, closed the curtain between the cab and the sleeping compartment, got undressed, and lay down on the bed after setting the alarm clock so I would not oversleep.