 |
|
 |
|
Greg Parker
July 22, 1947 - September 12, 2005 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
The next stage: Supercharged coach |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pioneer transportation for the 21st century |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greg's stagecoach and a CHP car prepare for the
twilight precession |
|
|
|
|
|
Greg Parker may been "officially"
out of the towing business since mid 2002, but on Saturday
night I saw tangible evidence that the tow truck driving community
still counts him as one of their own. Greg passed away last
week, and I was fortunate to spend the day in Barstow reveling
in the colorful stories about his life and passions. As dusk
fell over this historic Route 66 town, I witnessed a send-off
lit by hundreds of amber-colored strobes mounted on nearly
fifty tow vehicles of any every type and description. A crowd
of friends, former colleagues, and family gathered on the
east end of Barstow's Main Street to parade down historic
Route 66. The entire procession was shepherded by an honor
guard of four California Highway Patrol vehicles and included
classic cars, off-road racing dune buggies, two super-charged
"horseless" stagecoaches, and scores of motorcycles,
SUVs, sedans, and those aforementioned tow trucks, including
more "super tows," (those mammoth trucks that can
tow 18-wheelers) than I have ever seen in one place.
I had the opportunity to interview Greg almost
exactly ten months ago while doing research for my guide
book to Interstate 15. For a time, Greg operated the only
4 x 4 tow truck in the Barstow area. I first realized he was
no ordinary driver when he told me of a number of cases where
he had sensed that an accident had occurred before he received
a call from a dispatcher. He also used his psychic abilities,
especially the technique known as "remote viewing,"
to find motorists who were broken down out in the desert and
unable to tell the highway patrol dispatchers where they were.
Greg's original 4 x 4 tow truck -- a familiar sight to everyone
in Barstow -- was in the honor procession on Saturday night.
I had learned earlier that Greg took great delight in rescuing
stuck 4-wheelers with his 2-wheel drive Toyota 4-Runner.
"He loved those tow truck drivers and
the work they do," Greg's wife Betty told me at the
twilight procession. She also recalled how many times he missed
family dinners and holiday gatherings because he was pulling
people out of a ditch or providing mechanical assistance along
a remote stretch of highway.
I saw Greg only twice in a decade, but
he had an incredible knack of becoming an instantaneous friend.
At the memorial service, his buddies and cohorts shared stories
of his legendary kindness to strangers in need. Many also
recalled his penchant for explaining the world and his place
in it with a unique theory of energy and matter that he had
developed over the course of his lifetime.
[Continued on Page
2]
