The Green Tonka Road Grader

The sky was bright blue with a few cotton-like clouds floating overhead and a light wind was blowing in the small Southeastern Kentucky town of Sandy Hook. It was July 1967 and seven-year-old Harry was outside playing with his small Hot Wheel cars in the dirt lane that flowed up to the blue and white mobile home where he lived with his three sisters, one brother and his mother, a single parent.

He was always playing by himself because he lived in the country far from town and there were no other kids to play with in his area. He never felt lonely because he had a very vivid imagination and could create his own characters when he needed to. However, there were times when he thought he would like to have some friends to play with and they could help him build his road for their cars to drive on.

When Harry wasn’t playing in the dirt with his cars he was running up and down the dirt lane. He would pretend he was running in a track meet, and he always won. He had seen high school boys running track, so, he would emulate them.  

One day he saw a commercial on television about a Green Tonka Road Grader. Wow, he thought! I want one of those. He could proudly show his friends the new Green Tonka Road Grader. So, he asked his mother to buy him one, but she said, “maybe later” and went on about her daily routine.

That was a sign she would never get him that Tonka Road Grader and Harry knew it. So, he had to wait and ask her again later. The next day he saw that commercial on television. He asked his mother to buy him the road grader. She said, “she would later.”

Harry couldn’t stand it! He had to have that road grader. He was obsessed with this Green Tonka Road Grader made by Tonka Toys. He already had a big Yellow Tonka Dump Truck, and he wanted the road grader to go with it.

He pictured himself building roads in the dirt with his small cars driving on the road after the road grader cleared a smooth path for them to maneuver. Oh, that is going to be so much fun he thought! He couldn’t wait for his mother to buy him that road grader.

So, two weeks passed, then a month, and the start of another month and Harry still did not have a road grader. He did not forget about it, so he asked his mother again. Mom when are you going to buy me that road grader? “Soon,” she replied.

Harry couldn’t wait. He was so full of anticipation, and he wanted that road grader. Tomorrow they were going to the store. So, the next day Harry, his sisters, brother, and mother all loaded up into their green and black 1959 Chevrolet pick-up truck and headed into town.

He could not wait. This is my moment he thought. I am going to ask mom to buy me that road grader today while we are in town. By this afternoon I will be playing with my new Green Tonka Road Grader! The family eased on down the road towards Sandy Hook.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise and Harry looked over at his mother behind the steering wheel. She cried out, “oh no!” The truck shook violently to the left of the center line, and she could not control it. A tie rod had broken on the left front side of the truck, and it was out of control. It kept going toward the left side of the road until it plunged 15-feet down a sloped embankment.

The truck rolled over several times. Harry could hear crushing metal and breaking glass. His mother, brother and sisters were thrown through the windshield of the truck and landed on the rocky creek bed. They were all alright, except his brother had a bloody nose, other than that, no severe injuries. Harry was not so lucky. He had been thrown half out the passenger side door and when the truck hit the dry creek bed at the bottom of the embankment, the door shut on him and the truck rolled over on top of him.

He lay there unable to move. He was not scared for himself. There was an eerie silence. He wondered what happened to his family, did they die? Were they hurt, he thought? Suddenly a liquid started pouring in his face. What is this he thought? Then he realized it was gasoline pouring onto his head and body. His legs were crushed! His red and white flannel shirt was torn almost completely off his torso. He was soaked in gasoline. Suddenly, he heard people crying and screaming and someone yelled, “is there anyone in the truck?” Harry’s mother shouted yes; “my son is trapped under the truck!”

Several men started running towards the overturned truck. One man had a cigarette in his mouth, and someone yelled, “Put that cigarette out! There is gas flowing over here.” The men lifted the truck about three feet off the seven-year-old boy. They yelled for him to crawl out from under the truck, but Harry could not move his legs. He could only move one arm because the other arm was pinned by the door. Suddenly, the truck slipped and fell on Harry again pinning him to the ground.

One of the men yelled, “he is still under the truck!” So, another man grabbed him by the arms and when they lifted the truck, he pulled Harry out from under it. Harry could hear his mother crying but he could not see her. Two men carried him across the street to a house where the owner told the men to bring him in and lay him on the couch. Someone had called for an ambulance, and it was on the way.

An older woman took a washcloth and wiped his face to get the gasoline off so he could see and stop his eyes from burning. Someone pulled his pants down to look at his legs and Harry thought this is so embarrassing! All these people were standing around looking down at him. He scanned the room to see if he could see his sisters, brother, and mother. Finally, his mother came up to him and he could see everyone was alright, so he felt relieved, but he was in severe pain.

The ambulance came and took Harry and his mother to the Sandy Hook Memorial Hospital. They x-rayed his legs and determined they had been severely crushed under the weight of the truck. It would take months of recuperation. He was in the hospital for several days getting casts put on his legs. As he lay in the hospital bed, he heard the doctor tell his mother he might not walk again. We will have to wait and see how he heals.  

Oh no, Harry thought. I am going to walk again and run too. He had been in the hospital almost a week now and he was anxious to leave and go home. The doctor told his mother he would have to remain in a wheelchair for many months. Harry did not like the sound of that. He had no choice, he could not walk.

So, the day came when the doctor cleared Harry to leave the hospital and his mother came to take him home. She was in good spirits and was trying to cheer him up. He was quiet but anxious. They talked as they drove home. He saw the long dirt lane come into sight and he felt better already. It was nice to get away from that hospital, he thought.

Once they were home his mother had some friends come over to their house and they were waiting for them. They helped carry his wheelchair into the house. He sat in the living room watching television. His mother kept trying to get him to go into his bedroom. He thought that was odd. He noticed she would say why don’t you roll yourself into your bedroom to see how you can get along.

Harry knew he could get along just fine. So, he decided to do as his mother suggested. He rolled his wheelchair into his bedroom and spun around to leave when suddenly something caught his eye. There on his dresser was a shiny new Green Tonka Road Grader. “Oh my God!" he shouted. He could not go outside and play with it. He knew he had it though. However, it would be many months before he could go outside and play in the dirt. He could not wait to get out of his wheelchair and play with his brand-new shiny Green Tonka Road Grader.