LETTERS: TEXAS FAMILY THANKFUL FOR HOSPITALITY

To the editor:

On July 9, my wife, daughter and I were on our way home to Texas from our wonderful vacation in St. Louis. As we approached Cape Girardeau, I noticed a thumping sound every minute or so underneath our Jeep. I believed the rear shocks were worn out. We were pulling a 23-foot trailer, and its weight combined with the rough St. Louis freeways led me to believe that this was the problem. We decided we needed some new shocks and hoped we could find some in Cape Girardeau. We took the first exit.

We first stopped at Bob's Fish Restaurant, where we encountered some very friendly people, not to mention some very good food. We next went to the Auto Zone parts store, where I bough the new shocks. While I was waiting, a nice gentleman who knew he was going to take up a great deal of time with the salesperson invited us to get ahead of him, seeing that our purchase would be quick. Once we bought the shocks, we went to a very nice park across from the big hospital. I put on the shocks, and this is where our story becomes more interesting.

As we left the park, everything seemed fine. We got back on the main street heading west toward the interstate when suddenly the transmission on our Jeep made a very loud whirring noise, and we lost power to the rear wheels. Luckily, we were going downhill, which allowed me some time to pick a spot to pull over. Eying an opening, I turned left and stopped the Jeep. After crawling underneath, I determined the drive line seemed OK, and we had plenty of transmission fluid. Yet the Jeep wouldn't budge. We were in a quandary. What were we going to do? We were 700 miles from our home and didn't know a soul in Cape Girardeau.

Fortunately for us, we had broken down in front of Pop's Pizza, where the folks who worked there were very hospitable. They invited us to use their phone and even towed our trailer to the Church of Christ on West End Boulevard. I can tell the hospitality demonstrated at Pop's really began to lift our spirits.

We had two basic problems. The first was finding a place for our trailer, and the second was trying to get our Jeep fixed. As mentioned earlier, the first problem was solved quickly when the church eagerly offered a place for us to park the trailer. The second was going to take more time.

At Pop's I asked if anyone could recommend a good transmission shop. The manager asked her son, and he immediately recommended LeGrand Transmission. I called the shop, understanding I was at a great disadvantage, being that I was from out of town and it was Friday afternoon. I talked to the secretary, who was very polite, and then I talked with Darryl LeGrand, one of the owners. My fears of being taken advantage of were very quickly allayed as our conversation began. Darryl was very professional in his questioning, and we quickly concluded that the Jeep needed to come to his shop. He called a tow truck for us, and we were moving toward solving our second problem. Jason, our tow-truck driver, was very helpful. He loaded our Jeep very carefully and then transported us and the Jeep to LeGrand's. Once we arrived, things started to look up.

LeGrand's was very crowded, and all of the bays were full. Luckily, they were just finishing up a car, and a bay opened. Darryl moved our Jeep in and within 15 minutes had the problem located and corrected. I can't tell you the relief my wife and I felt when we learned we could get home that evening. And to top everything off, Mr. LeGrand was very fair in his fee. I felt he treated us as any of his loyal customers. We were very thankful for this. We left for Texas and made it home safely.

When my wife and I were planning this vacation, we had not planned on visiting Cape Girardeau. However, considering the circumstances, we agree that it was a blessing to be in Cape when all of this occurred. I want to thank all of the citizens of Cape Girardeau for your kindness and hospitality. The next time we visit, we hope it will be under better conditions.

STEVE ELLISON

Fort Worth, Texas