Good end to a bad day

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 12:00pm by Level 1 Rev. DR. Finnegan Quinn

Mission: It's... A Bus Station
Location: Jordon lake NC
Timeline: April 27th 2020

Finn was headed to the West. His destination was Jordan Lake. A state recreational area West of Raleigh. Most of the local United Churches of Christ from the State of North Carolina, had all gone together and purchased property along the large lake to serve as a bible camp. Even some of the churches in nearby states were a part of this. They had even helped out the camp for people with disabilities that was next to theirs. So now both camps bordered each other. Usually there was only one church there at a time, or parking could be tight. Except for kids summer camp. He wasn’t totally sure about being early. But the good thing was he could run back into town to shop for his trailer. After all, he had to take care of him own meals now till Wednesday night. He was also sure someone would be there. There were many retired members of the churches he helped out at. So there was a chance they could be there a little early.

On his dashboard lay his cat, Phantom. He was a fluffy black cat, with just a splotch of white on his face, like the Phantom of the opera. The cat almost always rode on the dashboard of his Peterbilt that he drove for work. If not there, then on hte bed in the back. Some people who saw it would laugh, but he didn’t care. The cat loved the sun. And he loved the cat. His wife had picked up the cat eight weeks after it had been born. So now it was one of the few things he had to remind himself of her. Today he was just in his Dodge Ram 3500 dually. The cat still fit in the windshield. Currently he was flipping his tail, while the sounds of Joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat played. He checked his mirrors as he got closer, making sure he could get over and take the proper turn.

The trees were a mix of some that had already bloomed and some in mid bloom. A few years back he had made several trips to Utah and Nevada. He hated how dry it was there. Out on the East coast, it was a whole different story. Like with his home state of Wisconsin, everything was green in part of the spring, summer and some of the fall. Birds were singing and the day seemed to be a good one. He pulled off the main road and onto a gravel road.

Ahead there was an old church, in which some of the few days events would take place. Between the old church and the water’s edge was a ring around a giant fire pit with benches around it in a ring. Scattered to either side of the old church were some cabins. For the children’s summer camp. Towards the water, was the main mess hall. He made it a goal that the next day, he would investigate all of the camp. Just so he knew where he was.

Finn had only been here a couple of times. A couple weekends the summer before. Normally he had been in town, taking over for whichever pastor was here at the time. This time he was lucky. He got to go and they got to stay. He waved to a couple that already had their trailer and campsite set up. He passed them and went to where he was gonna park. Normally the pastor parked or put up their tent near the old church. But the low trees and Finn’s high fifth wheel would not mix. So he passed that and went towards the water.

As he pulled in, a few people who were nearby all came over to help guide him in. The biggest problem was he wouldn’t have a power or water hookup. But his battery was full. He had his folding solar panel and his water tanks were full.


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April 28th

Finn stepped out of his fifth wheel, into the pre-dawn hours of North Carolina in April. Phantom had taken over his pillow as he got up. Not counting his time off when he had been injured, this was his first real vacation in years. He always loved the great outdoors. Camping, fishing, hunting. All of it. Mostly the camping part. Of course he did his camping in a trailer. That was something his now dead wife always insisted. She hated sleeping on the ground.

Sure it was cold as he stepped outside. He had his leg brace on and was holding his cane. The cold alone made his old injuries ache. But there was something peaceful about areas like this when it was in the couple of hours before the sun rose. He just had to sit there and enjoy the silence of a quiet morning in the woods. The moon wasn't visible at all, just some stars in the sky. Finn eased himself into the camp chair and just sat there, watching nature’s glory. He had already been finishing up the sermon he would be giving on Sunday. That was one less job for the day. That left looking for a job on his phone.

He was nearby the shore. About two hundred feet away. But with the slight breeze that was blowing, he could hear the water lapping at the nearby docks. He was thankful for this. The quiet times where he could focus on stuff like that. The little things that made life worth it. The small fire pit they had used the night before still had a bit of wood in it. And even though they were to put it out, clearly his younger fellow campers had forgotten to pour water on it. So he tapped one side of the log and shifted it, uncovering embers.

Finn enjoyed this area. With a major lake so close to home. He could come out without having to drive for several hours. And for the most part, most of the people there with them were great. In the past few years, he had lacked the free time. As he sat there, he began to think about his life and how it got to this point. He got up long enough to put a small log on the struggling fire.

As he sat there, looking at possible jobs, his mind drifted to the ghost in the house. If he had been a teen, he would be searching places for ghosts. Just the thought of what he used to do made him smile. He knew they existed. He had seen one as a child. A couple years earlier he had almost become one himself. He needed to know more. At least he felt he did. But what if this was the calm before the storm. “What if this thing ends up hurting the kids.” He asked in a quiet voice. “Not like anyone exists to combat this anymore. Then he saw one. Not an ad for one, but people on a forum talking about a job offer.


Ghostbusters! Driver needed: CDL class A required. Hazmat and hazardous materials certification required.

Finn went to the main site it came from and after twenty minutes of going through the listing, he was sure he could get it. But there was no mention of pay. That was never good. Most companies that tried to pay low never would mention the pay. Then he thought about it. “Ghostbusters?” He asked out loud to no one. “They can help.” While on the site he decided to also put in an application. He didn’t know why he put in the application, but work was work. As long as it was legal and put food on his sister’s table. If the pay was too low and had no benefit to it, then he could just tell them no.