Homeward Bound: Chapter Seventy

Homeward Bound: Chapter Seventy

     “Soon as we’re settled in California, you’ll have to go for your driver’s test,” I tell Anne.

     “With as much as I drove on the trip, I should really be ready,” Anne says with a laugh.

     “We got a pretty level stretch for awhile. You want to take the wheel?” Vance asks.

     “You know, we already had one accident. Probably we should only let the experienced drivers take their turns,” Omar says from the back. 

     “I ‘d rather wait until we got on a paved section, anyhow,” Anne says.

     “If you wanna drive, go ahead. The gravel ain’t that bad,” I tell Anne and turn to give Omar a cold hard stare.

     “No, that’s all right,” Anne says and slips her fingers into mine.

     “One thing for sure, you ain’t gonna get stopped out here for driving without a license,” Vance tells us.

     “Yea, but wouldn’t your conscience bother you? I mean, after all, the law says you have to have that little card. Only an outlaw would drive without one,” I say with a laugh.

     “Well, I have to admit, you got a point there, Daley. I mean if it’s the law, you better obey it. If the speed limit says forty miles an hour, you slow down to forty,” Vance says as he pushes it up to ten miles over the posted limit.

     “Yea, you guys are making fun. But, the truth is that the laws are there to protect us. That’s the most important function of government. Why do you think we have an army and a police force?” Omar asks.

     “Are the laws written to protect the individual, or the property of those in power? I mean, isn’t it the property owners who make the laws?” Vance questions.

     “But, that’s the most important right of an individual. The right to own property,” Omar returns.

     “Isn’t the right to freedom more important?” I ask.

     “What do you think freedom is? The most important freedom is to be free to keep what you worked so hard to earn. You know, if it wasn’t for the law, everyone would just take what they want. You would have to fight to protect what is rightfully yours…”

     “Still, there is a very fine line between law and individual rights. I mean, in a democracy we elect people to make the laws. Often, as in the case of our Constitution, laws are made to protect the individual from the government. Remember, if the government no longer represents the will of the people, we have the right to over throw it,” Vance argues.

     “Yea, but that was a long time ago back in history. It’s different now. If you don’t like the law, you can vote the lawmakers out of office. After all, the people we elect spend their whole life in government. They have more knowledge than us. They know what has to be done to keep things in control… to keep order…”

     “That’s just the problem,” Vance says. “How can we allow someone else to control our lives? I mean a man should have the power to control his own destiny. You can’t give that control to anyone. Not to government. Not to some corporation. Not to law that runs counter to your own common sense…”

     “You’re saying that you’re smarter than the government that creates the law. Smarter than those who have worked their whole lives to reach positions of power. How’d you get so smart?” Omar asks.

     “That’s just it. You got to get that smart. If you don’t, you give up control of your life. That’s why a man’s got to go out and experience life. A man’s got to leave the beaten path. If you stay a sheep following the lead of those in power, you maybe get what you deserve. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. A man can go out and find out for himself. Ain’t that right, Daley?”

     “That’s the only way you can do it. Sometimes you have to bend a law a little. And, if it’s a bad law, sometimes you have to break it. Then there are other laws besides those made by man. Like Service says, ‘This is the law of the Yukon. Send me your strong and your sane…”

     “Well, probably you think you know more than I do ‘cause you went to college and I didn’t,” Omar says and lapses into silence. I catch a glimpse of a green forest stretching out for miles in front of us and lose all interest in pursuing our argument. Vance concentrates on his driving, and the miles roll on.

     Pine forest, green meadows, rivers, lakes, rock formations, and mountain range flash by our windows. Fresh air filters in and stirs the staleness of our cramped quarters. I doze and awake to some fresh wonder in a constant rhythm of rise and fall. Somewhere we stop for lunch and a little stretch. Then, we continue to push it down the road. Time goes round and round like the tires on the grave surface,

     Around six P.M. we stop for fuel at Dawson Creek. We put together our evening meal, and in less than an hour, I climb behind the wheel and we’re off again. Somehow, Vance and Anne end up in the back seat with Merle sitting next to me and Omar by the window. Covering the last miles of the Alcan with a deep sadness, I turn west on Highway Ninety Seven and bid silent farewell.

     “Never thought we’d be back down the Alcan before the end of summer,” Vance tells us.

     “We didn’t even stop to see Paddy McGee,” Anne says.

     “Well, he wouldn’t have liked so much company, anyhow,” I say and wonder if he’ll complete his hunting lodge.

     “Old Paddy McGee. He’s something to write about, that’s for sure,” Vance says and hands up the cigarettes for Omar to put in the glove compartment.