We travel a lot as a family. Our adventures have taken us to Europe, Central America, and most of the United States. When you travel, you get to experience a lot. There are places to explore, people to meet, mountains to climb, and waters to rest by. Throughout these travels, I am always drawn to the broken-down, forgotten buildings on the side of the road. And I wonder, “Who’s dream was this?”
The Bay station rests at the intersection of SR97 and Otho Rd. in Abbeville, Alabama. Kelly and I came across it while running. The distinctive Alabama red and white sign with the three black letters sagged at an angle, riddled with rust-marked bullet holes. Below the sign, a small store lay boarded up next to a tired awning guarding a collapsed recliner from the rain.
Whose dream was the Bay Station on the corner of this rolling country road? What were their names? How did they come to open the store? I imagine them saying hello to their customers, like the cars that pass us as we sweat in the muggy Lake Eufaula heat. Each driver ensures they slow down, gives us ample room for safety, and makes eye contact as we exchange waves. I imagine the folks at the Bay station embodied that care for others. I imagine them doing good with the good they’ve been given, undoubtedly with a pot of hot coffee, a warm handshake, and some cold nightcrawlers—provisions to warm the belly, fill a heart, and snatch a bass from the lake.
And I wonder, “Did they realize they were living their dream amid it all?” I pray they did. Wherever they are, I truly hope they knew they were living a dream. As they balanced their budgets, maintained their inventory, and greeted their customers, I hope they knew what they were doing was special. Especially on the days it felt like a slog. Those are the real special days in a business. The ones you look back on with a smile. I certainly admire them now, huffing away on the road, lost in thought.
We passed a man mowing his field on our return route. He paused his work a second time to extend a smile and a wave to us. We waved back, and I considered how incredible the folks of the old Bay station must have been. I wonder if anybody else thinks about this. We often admire the Steve Jobs of the world, the Apples, the Air BnBs, and the Microsofts. But those are truly outliers. The Bay corner stores are more common. These are the stories of America on country roads and old Main streets. The Bay stations are far more common than Bill Gates and Paul Allen toiling away in an Albuquerque garage. We all know that story well, though Bill Gates doesn’t know any of us.
I don't know the names of the folks who owned the Bay station, but I guarantee everyone in the community did. And I suspect they knew all of their customers' names right back.
We tend to get lulled into the modern appeal of the celebrity CEO and the bajillions of dollars they have. We focus on these in business classes and study their moves - when they took on investment, what they IPO’ed at, how they built their team, how many failures it took to get to the one breakout success, and so on. I tend to gravitate towards the Bay stations, the lawn businesses, the contractors, and the plumbers of the world–the small businesses that drive our economy, create jobs, and make up 99.9% of all U.S. businesses. There are companies like ours, and I can’t help but reflect upon the moment we are living right now.
I recognize that we are living our dreams. We are doing good with the good God has given us. I hope the people of Bay knew it while they were in it. I certainly know it right now. And while I don’t know where ALPs will go, I know that the people we serve know that we care about them and that we are with them. Just like the people we pass on our run who stop what they are doing to ensure that we know they see us and they care.
I cannot answer whose dreams I pass on roads, nor can I predict our mark when we’re gone. But I know this dream we are living is a gift, and I pray that it marks the lives of the people we serve and the lives of those they touch.
What dream are you living right now?
