As some of my readers know, I do like country music, but some of the best country songs are from earlier decades such as the 70s and 80s in my humble opinion. As a result, my Sirius/XM stations that are on my screen are from that period. I thought I had heard most of the great ones by Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristopherson, and so many more.

But I heard a new one yesterday by a singer that I had not heard of, David Lee Murphy. As I started to pay attention to the words, I fell into a bit of a memory rebound. I had to look this song up on the internet and read the words again. Well, memory not being what it once was, I reached for a piece of paper and a pen. There was no pen. I was going into my doctor’s office, so I kept saying over and over David Lee Murphy. The Road You Leave Behind. As I entered the doctor’s office, I asked the receptionist if I could borrow a pen. She quickly handed it over to me and I saved the information.

When I got home, I not only found the words, but a YouTube presentation of him singing this song. As I listened to the song, my memory went back to 1978 and a crisis I had in my dad’s truck crossing Utah on my way back to Illinois. My eyes got teary as I compared those words to my own situation and the life-long effects it had on my willingness to stop along the road and help someone in need whether I knew that person or not. Here are some of the words.

I remember the night my dad stopped the car

And got out in the rain

Changed a blown-out tire on a car

For a family with out of state plates

I said and did we know those folks

As they waved and drove out of sight

He just smiled as he started the car

He said, son not til tonight

Stopping to help someone you don’t know may be a thing of the past. Everyone has a cell phone, and the roads today are probably not as safe. But does that change aiding someone in distress? I sure hope not.

You see the road you leave behind you

Is another road you’re gonna have to come back down

It’s just the way this big old world turns ‘round

You’ll find somehow somewhere someplace sometime

You gotta go back down the road you leave behind

I have written some of my own personal experience on that road you leave behind. There I was stuck with a bad carburetor on I-80 in the middle of nowhere with two children seven and four-years-old.

Then two men stopped to see if they could help. We figured it was my carburetor, and they shared one scary fact and one saving grace. Although it was Thursday, they informed me that it was Pioneer Day in Utah, a state holiday. Everything was closed. Then the saving grace. They had a friend who could fix it, and he was painting a car so he was around. They then drove off. From the atlas, the nearest town was 12 miles ahead. But to get back to me, they would have to go past, find the next turn-around, and then get to me. After 20 minutes, I decided I needed a plan B. These men didn’t know me. But I had no plan B. They pulled up.

They came to find out the type of the carburetor. They went back with the information. Another 20 minutes they were back again. Seems that the mechanic was too busy to come to me, so they hooked me up to their truck with a chain and hauled me to his garage, where he fixed the truck. He had been to a junkyard to get the right carburetor. He charged me $85 for the part and service. I turned to the men and asked how could I every thank them, and reached for my wallet. They refused anything, told me they were Mormons, and to pass it forward.

I have passed it forward perhaps a dozen times since then. And still will in spite of my age. Murphy finishes his song with these words.

I said what do I owe you friend you could have easily passed me by

He said the next time it might be me son you don’t owe me a dime

I’ve been on that other road that I had come down. Watch the video of him playing this song on YouTube. It may remind you of a time when you needed help or were the one giving it. I hope this last column of the year gives us hope for the coming year, even though our country is in a very twisted state today. We are all Americans and should act like it.

· Dennis Marek can be contacted at llamalaw23@gmail.com.