I Reckon You're Right

Pocket Full of Quarters Journey 2015
I Reckon You're Right

Written In West Memphis, Arkansas
By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:


"It is so dark. This road is narrow and bumpy. The giant trees are covered with moss and making a roof over me."

"Cheryle! Are you sure you turned on the right road?"

"I think so. I followed the directions. It says dead end."

"Are you still on the right road? You should have been there by now."

"I'm just getting deeper into the woods. The road is now gravel."

Bob had picked the campground. I was talking to him via my ear bud as I pulled down the long narrow road of the campground, nestled on the Arkansas side of Mississippi River. We knew that I'd be driving late so Bob had carefully made arrangements for the campground host to wait up for me and escort me to my campground.

"If it were daylight, I'd probably like this road," I assured Bob. I saw a fence covered in moss. Even the black metal silhouette of Tom Sawyer looked scary in the dark.

"I'm only getting about every 3rd word," Bob said.

Great, I thought. I'm losing cell coverage.

"I see the office. It looks like a shack. A man is standing out front with a beer can."

"What are you going to do?" I guessed Bob was hearing me again.

"I see someone in the office. I'm going in." Bob stayed on the phone. It turned out that the man only had a cup of coffee. The cheerful host had waited up for me and checked me in. The shack was actually a fun building made to look like Tom Sawyer's cabin. "That man over there will lead you to your site."

"Bob, I'm following a cart. What makes me willing to follow a man I don't know down a long dark dirt road to somewhere I haven't been? I know they probably don't do background checks on these camp workers."

Even in the dark, I could see the beautiful ponds and Mississippi river. We drove all the way to the end of the campground and parked right by the Mississippi River.

The man got out of his cart and walked to my window. I rolled down my window and asked, "What are those lights I'm looking at across the river?"

"That's Memphis," he said.

"It is beautiful."

"This is my favorite site in the entire park," he said cheerfully.

"I can certainly see why. My aunt and uncle and I took a river boat cruise from New Orleans to here a few years back. Would we have passed you?"

"Yes ma'am. The dock is right around this bend. They go back and forth all the time."

"It was a wonderful trip," I said.

"I've heard that. I've always wanted to go."

"I see a park bench and table next to the river. Is that another campsite?"

"No ma'am. That is for anyone to use."

"So I can take my Bible down there tomorrow morning?"

"Your Bible and anything else you want to take."

"Are you a reader of the Bible?"

"Well...," he said, dragging out the l.

"That means no," I laughed. "Did you ever read your Bible?"

"Yes ma'am. I grew up Catholic. We went to Bible class before and after every school day. I had more of it than I ever wanted."

I made the sign of the cross. He laughed and said, "I do pray but I can't rightly say I go to church anymore."

"If you're Catholic, I know you learned about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I also know they taught you about sin."

"I learned all about sin," he joked.

"Do you still believe?"

"I suppose I do."

"What about the next life? Do you know where you are going?"

"I can't know. I suppose that's up to God. He'll make that decision. I sure hope it is somewhere good."

"I hope so too. Actually, the Bible says you can know where you are going."

"Really?" he said, sounding surprised. Bob was still listening to every word but was completely silent.

"Yes," I said. I went through the Gospel scriptures. He emphatically agreed that we'd all sinned.

"It sounds like you learned a lot about Jesus but never met him personally," I said.

"I reckon you're right about that."

"Would you like to meet him now?"

"Does it take long?" he said worriedly. I guessed there was a wife back at his camper already aggravated that he'd had to wait up on a late camper.

"Not at all. It's the easiest thing you'll ever do," I encouraged.

Then I sure would," he said enthusiastically. He prayed to receive Jesus, looked up and grinned from ear to ear. He made the sign of the cross.

"Don't forget to give him a tract," Bob whispered into my ear. I jumped. I'd forgotten Bob was listening. I reached into my purse and handed him the tract named "You Made the Right Decision."

"Thank you ma'am," he said, pulling off still smiling.

"I knew he was toast as soon as he walked over to your window and was friendly," Bob joked.

"Bob, that was amazing! It was so easy."

"God sure handed it to you didn't he?" Bob agreed.

"Yes and this campsite is beautiful. Thank you for finding it. There is a giant barge going by being pushed by a tug boat. I'll post pictures in the morning.




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