Where Has the Time Gone? By Mary Muñoz © August 24, 2008

Now let us go back to the cold winter night of January 2, 1990. My ex and I had left our residence, in Scottsbluff, Nebraska with a load destined for southern California. The actual date was January 1, 1990 late evening. For the reader this was a time in my life when I was a cross-country truck driver. Many of my remembered experiences with lights and objects occurred while I was traveling down desolate roads whether in a truck or in a car. This trip was no exception.
This run should have been simple. We have done it many times before, but we were racing a winter storm that apparently was shutting down the highways around us. We had just left Laramie, Wyoming so we would not be stopped until we made it to Rawlins. Once we came to Rawlins we found the storm was gone and the roads were clear.
At that time it was decided that my ex would get some sleep and I would drive on to Burns Bros about another three hours out. There we would fuel up and change places. I was use to pushing it hard and driving late nights, so I knew I would have no problems getting us there.
The only memory I have after leaving Rawlins is looking up at the stars. The next thing I would remember is gasping for breath and recognizing the wheel of the rig in my hands. I had no idea where I was or where I was going; I was confused. I knew that I didn’t want to look outside the window in any direction. All I wanted to do was stare straight ahead. I felt as though “they (UFO’s-ET)” would come back. This is again another, “why situation” for me?” Similar to the one I had shared last week.
Within a short time I come across a rest area that I recognize. I wanted to stop, but I didn’t due to fear of what was back there. I knew that my only safety was Little America. It was another 45 miles down the road. The speedometer stayed constantly on 85. I didn’t care about tickets or safety. I just wanted to get to a place I knew warm human bodies would reside.
I finally pull into Little America. I don’t know how long it took me, but I noticed that the time was 6:05 AM on my watch. I breathe in a sigh of relief and lay my head over the steering wheel ready to just sleep. This is when my ex comes out of the sleeper. At first he suspected we were further than Burns Bros due to the time on his watch, but when he saw where we were at he was upset.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” He shouted. I jump up from the steering wheel and said that I was sorry. I never told him that I had just pulled in. How can you explain the time or what just possibly happened?
The end result from the experience was two hours of missing time, an upset partner, and a combination of fear and curiosity of what had just transpired.
Mary.