Chapter 5

I awoke at dawn and opened my eyes, a little disoriented, but I soon realized where I was.  Kim and I were at Clarke and Sharon’s house in Lincoln on our quest. 

I pulled myself to sit upright and stretched.  Sunlight glistened outside the window.  I rose and walked over to it to peek out.  Clarke and Sharon lived in a sprawling development of big houses on a beautiful lake south of the city.  The water sparked as the sunlight danced across it.  It was a nice spring day.  I went back to the bed and sat down, reaching for a binder in which I had sketched out my itinerary for the trip.  I reviewed the notes I had written.

A few weeks before, I had come to my computer to find a reply to my email to the Thayer County Medical Center.  It was just a day after I acknowledged Joyce’s first email to me, which shocked me.  I hadn’t expected anything so soon.  I opened it excitedly in anticipation of the news it would bring.  It said:

“Randy,” It had read.  “I found two nurses and a doctor who remembered the incident immediately!  They are thrilled that you took the time to get in touch with us.  They will be very willing to meet with you.  We will also look for rescue workers who might remember you from the accident. Please keep in touch.  Joyce.”

            Of course, this was like hitting the jackpot!  I couldn’t believe that there were still people around who would know about it, yet alone several people!  I can’t say that I was 100% believing of what I was seeing.  It was that same day I got my first email from Helen.

“Hi Randy,” she wrote.  “My name is Helen Boman and I am the nurse who rode with the injured in the helicopter to Lincoln. I am contacting people I know who were there and remember that tragic night. All are interested in visiting with you.”

To say that I was awestruck would be an understatement.  I felt a surge of motivation and excitement that I could actually learn the real story.  Maybe even learn about the whole thing!  It was an incredible rush. 

Helen and I emailed each other a great deal in the days leading up to Kim and my trip to Lincoln, and had become very close.  Now I looked forward greatly to meeting her.  Over the next couple of weeks, she managed to bring together others; Gary and Dick, Blanche and Evelyn, and Doctor Bunting.  She said she would arrange a meeting for me so I could talk to them all. 

It was really happening.  I was beginning to think the whole story really was out there.  I could not have known then where it would end up taking me.  I made my travel arrangements as quickly as I could and they brought me here.

Kim and I met up with Dr. Bruce Miller at his home in Lincoln later that night.  It had been awhile since I had seen him, but he still looked the same.  I was quite sure he had stopped aging around 1983.  His wife Patti greeted us warmly and made sure our glasses were full all night.  He never forgot the crash and was glad that we were trying to figure it out.  Like everyone else we had met who were associated with it, he really only knew his role in it all, and was just as curious as everyone else about what everyone else had done.

I had brought along a bottle of 16 year McCallen.  Bruce was a single malt man like me.  I poured some of the amber liquid over the ice in our glasses and handed his to him.  We toasted and I sipped the peaty scotch that warmed my throat as I swallowed it.  We both sat for a couple of seconds savoring the drink and the moment, then set our glasses down. 

He listened as I told him about our trip so far and what we had discovered.  Then I asked him what he knew.  He looked at me then looked down.  I had brought along some photos of the crash which he looked through as he shook his head.  He set them on the table, looked at me, and began to tell me his story.