Fragmentos

Well, I just happened to be back on the east coast a few years back
I was tryin to make me a buck like everybody else.
Well, you know, but times can get hard, and Christ I got down on my luck
And I got tired of just roamin and bummin around,
So I started thumbin my way back to my old hometown.
You know I made quite a few miles in the first couple of days,
I figured I'd be home in a week if my luck held out this way.
But you know, it was the third night, though, and I got stranded,
It was out at a cold, lonely crossroads,
And as the rain came pouring down, man,
I was hungry, tired, freezin, caught myself a chill.
But it was just about that time, yea, it was just about that time
That the lights of an old semi topped the hill
You should of seen me smile when I heard them air brakes come on,
And I climbed up in that cab where I knew it'd be warm.
At the wheel, well, at the wheel sat a big man,
I have to say he must of weighed 210,
As he stuck out a big hand and said with a grin:
«Big Joe's the name and this here rig is called Phantom 309»
Well, I asked him why he called his rig such a name,
But he just turned to me and said
«Why son, don't you know this here rig'll be puttin them all to shame,
Why, there ain't a driver on this or any other line for that matter
that's seen nothin but the taillights of Big Joe and Phantom 309».
So we rode and we talked the better part of the night
And I told my stories and Joe told his
And I smoked up all his Viceroys as we rolled along.
He pushed her ahead with 10 forward gears,
Man, that dashboard was lit like the old Madam La Rue pinball
A serious semi truck.
Until almost mysteriously, well,
It was the lights of an old truck stop that rolled into sight,
And Joe turned to me and said:
«I'm sorry son but I'm afraid this is just as far as you go,
You see, I kinda gotta be makin a turn just up the road a piece»,
But I'll be damned if he didn't toss me a dime as he threw her in low and said:
«Go on in there son, and get yourself a hot cup of coffee on Big Joe»
I mean, I tell you when Joe and his rig pulled off into the night,
Man in nothing flat they was clean out of sight.
So I walked into this stop and ordered me up a cup of mud sayin:
«Big Joe's settin this dude up»
But it got so deadly quiet in that place, you could of heard a pin drop
As the waiter's face turned kinda pale, I said
«What's the matter, did I say somethin' wrong?»
I kinda said with a half way grin.
He said «No son, you see, It'll kinda happen every now and then.
You see, every driver in here knows Big Joe,
But let me tell you what happened just ten years ago out there,
Yeah, it was ten years ago out there, at that cold, lonely crossroads
And there was a whole bus load of kids
And they were just comin from school
And they were right in the middle when Joe topped the hill,
And could have been slaughtered except Joe turned his wheels,
And jacknifed, and he went into a skid,
And folks around here say he gave his life to save that bunch of kids,
And out there at that cold, lonely crossroads,
Well, they say it was the end of the line for Big Joe and Phantom 309.
But it's funny you know, cause every now and then,
Yea every now and then, when the moon's holdin water,
They say that old Joe will stop to give you a ride,
And just like you, some hitchhiker will be comin by.»
«So here son,» he said to me,
«Get yourself another cup of coffee, it's on the house,
I kinda want you to hang on to that dime,
Yea, you hang on to that dime as a kind of souvenir,
A souvenir of Big Joe and Phantom 309».
— Tom Waits, Big Joe and Phantom 309.

Não é assim também com as nossas vidas? Vamos encontrando pessoas, trocamos histórias, recebemos moedas, damos outras em troca. A umas guardamos, a outras gastamos para beber café. Mas o melhor de tudo, é que por vezes, quando estamos perdidos nalgum cruzamento, sozinhos, com fome e a tiritar de frio, Deus manda algum Big Joe no seu Phantom 309 para nos dar boleia até à estação de serviço mais próxima.