MY MOM REALLY WAS PSYCHIC AFTER ALL

Needless to say, being in a blown up truck on the side of I-87 with everything you own is not exactly a walk in the park. It's a walk down the most desolate stretch of highway in all of Texas.
Traffic is sporadic during the day and most of the night traffic was semis traveling at the speed of light.
I figured I'd hitchhike into Big Springs and call a wrecker and...well, I wasn't sure after that.
So, Buddy and I are about 5 miles into our walk and 8 or so carcasses of mostly deer and the occasional coyote or 3 hanging pike like from ranchers fenceposts as a warning to the other coyotes I guess.
Because of my sleep deprived speeded out condition, it was all very surreal. Like I was in a movie or something.
I was snapped back to reality when a state trooper drove by me heading north and turned around, heading back in my direction.
He pulled to a stop and got out of his cruiser and approached me and Buddy.
This could have been a problem because, A: Buddy did not like people in uniforms ( I didn't teach him this, I swear:) ) and B: I had brought some of my coke stash with me.
I told Buddy to heel and he did. The trooper asked "Are you Robert Clattenburg"?
I answered with a puzzled yes.
He explained that my mom had called them concerned that they had not heard from me. The group home I had applied for a job at called the day after I left and my friends had called my parents to let me know that I had a job if I wanted one.
AUUUGGGHHHH!
Then he asked me where my truck was, I told him about 5 miles back that way. He drove me to my dead truck, radioed for a wrecker and we waited.He did some hoo-doo with his radio and I was able to talk to my mom, who explained she had remembered seeing my atlas with the route highlighted and made her best guess where I might be because she knew I was in trouble.
That's my mom.
I was towed to I-87 salvage where they bought my truck for $200.00...Hell, the tires were worth 300 and the stereo (blaupunkt) was worth even more. How was I gonna get my truck home to Austin which was about 300 miles away? As much as it sucked, I took the $200.00.
They loaded all my stuff on the wrecker and drove me and Buddy to the motel 6 in Big Spring. I checked into a room and called home. My Dad would borrow my sisters truck and come get me.
Great. I took a shower and tried to sleep...no go...I smoked some weed...no go...I walked over to the truck stop and had a chicken fried steak with fries and a salad. I went back to the hotel and tried to sleep...no go...I busted out the coke and turned on the TV and waited for my dad.
Buddy was stretched out on the bed sleeping like there was no tomorrow.
I called nicee, she was less than glad to hear I was coming back. There was something in her voice...as it would turn out, it was another guy...and he wasn't in her voice.
I went back to my room...Buddy looked up from the bed and wagged his tail.
I had never felt so beaten down and broken in my life...Here I was in a motel 6 in Big spring, Texas...no truck,no job,no plan beyond going home and listening to my mom recite the top 100 things that make me a fuck up.
I looked at Buddy sleeping peacefully on the bed and had the simultaneous thoughts "you're my only true friend" and "I wish I was you".
I did some more coke and waited for my Dad.
In the years to come, this experience would temper other crises in my life and prove to be a character building chapter in my life.
My Dad showed up around sundown and we loaded up and headed home.
Seven hours later I was back here.
Then things got really strange.