Spring fever...In winter..Springfield Ill.

My Roadtrash travels..while in, Springfield,Ill it was late Feb. the freezing cold had just about got to me!..The alley we lived in seemed to never thaw,we all slipped and slid on ice, it seemed as if we were never going to see grass or solid ground. Being from Alabama, living in the same house since I was 17 yrs. working in the yard and having flowers or maybe a small garden, was second nature for me. I knew the days were getting warm in Alabama, Spring in my heart, has a up front seat ! But with the cold days in Springfield, it was very unusual to have days with the temp up to the 60 to 70'Os's,...I was pleasantly surprised, but more thankful, to see the sun and a break in the weather. I planned a day out. My favorite things to do are to walk outside in all the parks or the cemetery and to thrift store shop! Being so excited and blessed with such beautiful weather, I did them all! Pushing me to get back to the apartment to have supper for my son ready when he got home each day, but that was not meant to be on this day, for when I turned on the street, that turned into our alley,right there, parked in"Nonaans Hardware Store parking lot", was an ole truck! No one in it ,but loaded with "treasures", the most prized one I spotted was an old snow sled. It was worn and rusted, but it was beautiful to me. I circled the block, still some ice in the alley, I was careful not to slide. When I got back to Nonaan's the truck was gone! I wanted to cry, but I knew that the junk yard was only a mile or so down the next road. My thoughts were that was where this beautiful sled was going to end up I could hardly stand the thought of that, I had fell in love with this ole sled, I couldn't stand the thought of it. But as I sadly gave up on ever finding it again, I turned to go back down the alley, ...I looked left and right to pull out, There I saw it, the ole truck about two blocks away, I started to chase after it! I caught up with him in about four blocks, ever so careful to make an effort to STOP at every stop sigh as not to get a ticket. What do I do now? This man is going to think, I am crazy, but he'll just have to think it! Deciding that he was headed to the junk yard , I took advantage at the time to think what was I going to say to him? But he didn't go to the junk yard, he went straight into the street that lead in to the Ill. State Fair Grounds. Well I thought ,he must know another route to the junk yard I don't know! But no, he lead me right up into the fair ground to an ole barn. He parked , I pulled up ,parked right next to him.By this time the man has been looking back in his rear view mirror. I can tell he knows! He has to have noticed that some crazy woman is following him ,short of blowing my horn, waving him over, I was making no bones about following him. He gets out of his truck, I get out of my car now and am heading toward him! I say to him ,sir, I have been following from, Nonaan's Hardware parking lot! He says ,yea! I notices that! We both kinda laughed, both nervous laughs. Him, probably glad I wasn't going to rob him,...me because I still don't know how to ask him about the junk in his truck, mainly the sled! I just blurted out ! Can you tell me what you are going to do with that sled? I would love to buy it from you! He, laughed out loud, that ole thing he said, I have been cleaning out my mother in laws house, she is having to give up her house,she isn't able to keep it up and is going to have to go into a nursing home,...my heart then turned to her, how awful I felt that her life had to be cleaned out, thrown away,but how blessed she was to have a family to help her. But I wanted that sled..I turn back to him, he is pulling the sled out by this time. I said I will pay you for it!..No he said, mind you I am In my little Blue Volkswagen Beetle car. He is looking to see how I will ever fit this sled it that car? I hand him $5.00, telling him I will give him more ,the price of gas was up, as you know last year. He says no thanks, attempts to help me put the sled in my car,I tell him it was in my genes to pack a Volkswagen, as my mother had an older one when I was younger and that I was a able to pack as much in my car as he was in his truck! If he didn't believe me ,my son would tell him different, as I piled all my treasures that I gathered from month to month as we made a trip home to Alabama every month. Well it turned out, that the man was the," Master Gardner", for the fair whole Ill. State Fairgrounds! Wow, I learned all about how they organized a group yearly that cleaned and changed the seasonal plants,how neat! Being that the weather was going to be nice for a few days, they were starting their spring cleaning early. HOW LUCKY COULD I BE? Getting a antique sled as well as getting my hands dirty! So I ask if they could use another hand? Sure they were glad to have the help. So that week-end I was so excited, I could hardly wait, I worked hard! It felt good,working the soil, just felt like home, just what the doctor ordered to cure my homesickness for my yard! I was then able to endure the next bought of cold weather until my son got finished with the power plant job, we headed back to Home Sweet Home Alabama!