Abigail’s Tangled Thoughts

Abigail’s Tangled Thoughts

by Rod Jones Artist-Writer

“Oh, how our minds tangle with what we see in our thoughts.” These were not Abigail’s words, at least not outwardly. She saw them written on the back of a record album. Somebody had taken a pen and scribbled on the album jacket. This happened on the one and only occasion she went to a used record store. She never purchased the album, and she really couldn’t remember much about it except for those words that floated around her mind almost daily.

Abigail was an unintentional loner. She came from a prominent Boston family and lived in her ancestral home until the age 29, living off a generous family allowance. After much thought and anguish, she made the heartfelt decision that it was time for her to pursue writing her thoughts and ideas. Abigail’s dream was to become an author. For her that meant moving out west. She wasn’t that skilled as a driver, but for her, driving across the country seemed adventurous, and possibly could allow her to have some interesting experiences that she was severely sheltered from throughout her childhood and into her adult life.

Abigail’s family offered to make arrangements for her to own a car. She declined and decided she would go shopping for one herself. After doing some reading on the topic, she decided that she would purchase a van, and she ended up buying a Dodge cargo van, which her family absolutely disapproved of.

Abigail’s van was equipped with just the basics when it came to creature comforts. It had two seats, one for the driver and one for a passenger. It was equipped with an air conditioner and an automatic shifter lever on the steering column. The van had a basic radio. Behind the two seats, it was pretty much a steel shell. The space was large and meant to carry various forms of cargo, anywhere from boxes to rolls of carpet. Its minimalist configuration turned out to be exactly what Abigail was looking for. The one feature she especially liked was the cargo area of the van, very spacious. She imagined that roomy space becoming her own private mobile apartment.

It was time for Abigail, at least in her mind to re-create herself, and the first thing that had to go was her name. Instead of Abigail, she wanted to be called Abby. She got that idea from a very popular TV show called Downton Abby. None of her relatives, including her parents and siblings, ever referred to her as Abby. She was always Abigail.

Her last name was a highly respected upper-class Boston family name with tremendous notoriety. She thought to herself, “That for sure has to go.” She chose Foster to become her new last name. Foster came to her when she saw an oversized can of beer called Foster’s Lager.

“It’s time to trick out my van.“ The term “trick out", was a fragment of speech that the new Abby would say. Now she was actively trying to get rid of her upper-class Boston way of talking, and as she would say. “I’m gonna come down to earth and learn to talk like normal people.”

Van Goes Vans was the company she decided could do the best job creating the environment she wanted inside her traveling van. The owner of Van Goes Vans, an easy-going guy named Jeffrey, wasn’t sure he could turn the interior of Abby’s van into the traveling palace that Abby had envisioned. There was a lot of pressure put on Jeffrey to get the job done as quickly as possible. So to encourage him to make that happen, Abby enticed him with a substantial bonus if he could get everything done in 60 days, and he did.

The totally tricked-out van met all of Abby’s expectations, and in some cases much more. Jeffrey did a tremendous job. Abby asked Jeffrey if he would store the van for her in his facility for a few days and then she would come back and pick it up.

Goodbye, Mumsy and Popsy.

A whole lot of tears were shed the day Abigail left home, especially from her mother. Her father tried to be sternly understanding, but Abby could see his heart was breaking. The entire house staff came out to say goodbye to her. The cooks, the housemaids, the chauffeurs, and even the gardeners all lined up to say goodbye. Abigail’s mother, with tears in her eyes, was the last to let go of her as she got into a special limousine the family hired for her. She never wanted her family to know anything about the van. Abby led them to believe that she was going to take a long train ride west. They wanted to come to the train station, but she said she did not want to become emotional at the train station. She had two pieces of luggage, told her mother and father that if she needed anything else, she would just shop for it when the time was right.

The hired limo dropped her off at Van Goes Vans. She thanked Jeffrey for all the good work he did and for storing her van. She reached over and shook his hand and then decided to give him a big hug. For Abby this was a liberating moment, something she had never actually done to a non-family member. That hug from Abby had a profound effect on Jeffrey. He said to her, “If there’s anything you need in your travels, you can always reach out to us. If you have any trouble with the van or any of the interior workings, just let us know and we will take care of it for you right away. If you’re traveling into other states, we will make arrangements for you to have anything that’s not working properly fixed, including the van.” Abby replied by giving Jeffrey a second big hug and said, “You’re my man, Jeffrey, you’re my man. I know I can count on you.”

Abby hits the road.

The season was spring, and it was warm, her windows were rolled down. She tuned the radio to a local Soft Rock station. Her hair was in a high tight ponytail. She pulled off the road into a Walmart superstore parking lot. She pulled down the visor looked in the mirror and thought to herself, “No more fixed-up hair for me. From now on I'll let it go and let it do what it wants to. And these clothes have got to go.”

The great part about her van was all she had to do was step back away from the driver seat and open one of the drawers, where she stuffed some of her clothes. Thinking to herself, “These are the old Abigail clothes. I need Abby's clothes.” It was time for Abby to shop. This would be the first time in her life that she went into a grocery store and shopped for food, beverages, and this time clothes.

Abby went straight to the junior apartment to look for her new wardrobe. She thought that Walmart was going to have the best offerings for her new look. The first thing she picked up was a tank top. Blazed across the front were the words, “Get Real”. “That says it for me, I’m definitely getting real.” She said it loud enough that people close by could hear her. She smiled at them and they smiled back approvingly. One lady even spoke out and said, “You Go Girl.” Abby did not exactly understand what “You Go Girl” meant, but she thought, “That’s me, it’s the me, I’m coming to be.”

Heading back to the van, Abby was smiling ear to ear as she pushed her first shopping cart filled with snack foods, beverages, and a whole stack of clothes she personally picked out for the new Abby.

Back on the road again.

Abby's goal was to drive as far away from her Boston home as possible on her first day's drive. She made it as far as Framingham, Massachusetts.

She pulled into the Normandy Farms campground.

There she spent the night. Everything went so well, she decided to stay in this campground for a few days and take some time to plan her trip and what her new life was going to be all about.

Sitting by the pool, watching people of all ages and sizes play in the water, Abby had a flashback to the record album's back cover she picked up at the used record store. The one that somebody wrote these words., “Oh, How Our Minds Tangle With What We See In Our Thoughts.”

Abby often repeated that phrase to herself. You might say that’s what started her whole desire or mission to become a writer. Traveling in the Dodge van would become her own personal creative sanctuary. Abby knew she would experience for the first time all that her imagined real life had to offer. Unencumbered by her well meaning, but overbearing parents and family members, the new Abby or perhaps the latent Abby would emerge

Was Abby scared? Yes. She new life on the road as a woman traveling alone could be problematic. She wanted the adventure, Abby had no idea what was in store for her.

End of part one.

Part two goes heavily into her fortunes and misfortunes as she learns to write from real unvarnished life.