Buddy my friend

I had just finished up helping a customer when I saw him walking down the road. I couldn't move and felt spell bound. I had seen the Dos Palos Star the night before and I knew of his horror.

Buddy walked into the yard and I walked up the stairs and sat on the platform. Buddy walked up and sat down beside me. He had tears in his eyes and looked as if he were hypnotized or maybe in a state of shock.

I leaned over and took his hand and he began to sob. I gently rubbed his hand with mine and sat silently. He looked into my eyes and I saw Buddy broken.

Buddy had been on a ride into town in the ol truck. He was driving responsibly and didn't see the girl until it was too late. Even when it was too late the horror of the night was still unknown.

Buddy stopped the truck with his brakes and he was in a sort of trance. That is until he noticed the object on the seat next to him. It was the girl's head. (This I learned from Buddy after he began to talk.) The part about the head hadn't been in the paper.

Buddy cried and squeezed my hand. I leaned over and pulled his head to my shoulder and we both sobbed.

Buddy told me he had been over to the girl's grandparents and had told them how sorry he was. He didn't seem to get much solace but the grandparents had let him know they didn't blame him. It didn't seem to comfort Buddy as he simply couldn't understand. How could something so horrific have happened? How could he have killed a young girl with so much life to live?

Buddy and I must have sat on the steps for over an hour. Just as he had walked in, Buddy walked away. Even though he was a customer of ours, he never talked to me again at the plant. He didn't drive for a long time and even after the court found him not guilty, he couldn't drive for a while. (I hadn't talked to him before the incident so it didn't really impact me that he didn't come in and talk afterwards.)

Years went by and I divorced my husband and in time remarried. Russ was several years younger than me and knew Buddy.

A few years into our marriage after the birth of my son, Russ came in one evening and said we had been invited to a house warming party. It was for Buddy Maron and his wife. I was surprised as I hadn't heard nor spoken to Buddy and even then, only that one time.

Russ had gone to school with Buddy......... oh yeah, and Buddy's mom was the high school secretary and his dad was a truck driver that had on occasion worked with my father.

..........anyways

I think we bought Buddy and his wife a nice expensive bottle of wine and we proceeded off to the housewarming.

I remember walking in and feeling happy. The surroundings were lovely and the house beautiful.

I was so surprised when I saw Buddy (Joe Jr.) walking toward me and making a sort of scene out of it. He walked straight up to me and lifted me off the floor and kissed my cheek. I was embarassed for all of the attention and when he set me down, he simply muttered my name and turned and walked away.

It's been over 20 years since the night of the housewarming and I have never talked to Buddy since.

A case of Shock and Awe and PTSD all rolled into one example of my life.

..........mystuffs