The Day I Met Dan Cooper

Occasionally, when I think back on my childhood, I find myself feeling nostalgic for the early mornings in the big red barn. I live in a big city now, convinced in my teens that the farming life was not for me. It was hard, rewarding work, and my body aches at the memories. I am who I am today because of my life back on the farm. I was fourteen years old when a singular and profound thing happened in my simple farm life. I met a man. It is not what you think, trust me. I should explain. My story begins in the big red barn.

Since the age of seven, my job was to milk the cows every morning. I would wake up hours before the sun made its greeting and finished my chores in time to eat breakfast and make my way to school. Rain or shine, the cows were there, and the milking needed to be done. It was truly the best part of my day. The crisp morning air, the smell of the grass in the wind; the day was always freshest before sunrise. The cows would greet me with their joyous chorus of moos in anticipation of the milking. This was how it was, and the time passed as it does, in the blink of an eye.

*******

The day after thanksgiving, 1971, started off as any other day. The morning was bitterly cold, and I was finishing with the last of the cows when I heard an unfamiliar sound. I had spent every morning, excusing for the occasional bout of the flu or a cold, for the past seven years in this barn and I knew every crick, crunch, and rumble that came from inside. Everything inside from the patter of a mouse to the shifting of the ancient wood was known to me. The cows heard it as well and were none too pleased about it. I quickly turned to see a man standing at the entrance to one of the stalls. My breath caught and I almost ran as fear filled my senses, but the man's eyes made me hesitate and before I knew what I was doing, my mouth was open, and the words were coming out.

“Hello sir, are you okay?” I asked, starting to feel slightly unsure of myself.

“Excuse me little miss, my apologies if I frightened you, but I could use some assistance.” The man replied, as if he had not heard me.

He stumbled forward and I caught him and led him down to the floor. He slid back against the wall with a loud groan and then a sigh of relief. He looked terrible. He had a suit on, or at least, what was once a suit. He was using his tie as a sling for his arm, was it broken? I did not know. Dried blood lined the side of his face from a gash, now scabbed over, on the side of his head. The suit was torn and muddy and a pair of sunglasses with one lens missing was sticking out from a breast pocket.

“At least he still had both of his shoes,” I thought to myself and had to stifle a short laugh that threatened to escape my lips.

I stood up tall and crossed my arms, “I am not little, I am fourteen and not scared so easily! So don’t even think about trying anything.” I added the last, with as much confidence and nonchalance as I could muster. I still had not decided whether this man was dangerous or not. I was backing away as I said this, not noticing until my back came up against the wall opposite the man. I hoped he had not noticed; this proved to not be the case and the man barked a short laugh, made shorter by the coughing fit that came over him.

“You don’t happen to have a cigarette on you by chance?” He asked, as if this were a normal Sunday at a diner.

“No. Of course not.” I said shortly, remembering when my father had once smelled smoke coming in through the window and came looking for me. I had tried smoking once and it tasted disgusting.

“Figures. My name is Dan, Dan Cooper.” He held out a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Lucienne,” I replied, “nice to meet you Mr. Cooper,” and I took the mans hand in my own.

“Dan is fine.” And he laughed again, this time softer and this time, he managed it without a cough.

“What happened to you?” I asked as politely as I could.

“Ah, well, that is a long story. But I will try to make it as short as I can. I must be getting along soon.”

It did not look like he could manage more than a dozen steps to me. But I waited patiently for him to begin.

“I had an accident and became lost in the woods. I had been wandering all night and day before I finally saw this barn through the trees and snow. I thought I was a dead man for sure but never did a palace look so good to a prince as this barn did to me.”

I was amazed that the man was still alive as well and wondered how he came to be in the middle of the Washington wilderness.

“Is anyone looking for you? Someone must be missing you.”

Dan laughed again, louder than he intended I think, and he stifled another series of coughs.

“Yes indeed, yes indeed,” said Dan, and continued to chuckle softly. “A great many people are missing me, I have no doubt. And I have no doubt they are looking for me quite earnestly.”

“Well, perhaps it would be best for you to wait here then, and maybe they will come looking.”

“No, no, that will not do. I just need to rest and get my bearings, then I will be on my way.”

“It’s no trou…”

“I said no!” He said fiercely.

I quickly backed to the door and stopped. “I only want to help.” I said, the hurt coming through my words clearly. No fear, just… hurt. I did not know if I intended for it to sound like that, but it is how I felt.

“My apologies once again. It has been a long few days and the stress has been wearing me down. My patience has been tried and I took it out on you.”

He seemed sincere enough and I slowly made my way back towards him, sitting cross legged against the opposite wall.

“You’re in trouble.”

I was not accusing him of anything, just stating a fact. A fact he seemed to acknowledge.

“I am in trouble,” he replied with what sounded like relief. “Very much so.”

We sat in silence for a time, and then the man suddenly started asking me questions. We talked all morning and my parents must have assumed I went out on a snowy adventure because no one interrupted us.

“Is this what you want from life?” He finally asked, after I told him about what is was like on the farm and how my parents wanted me to take over the family farm one day. And for the first time in my life, I asked myself what I wanted to do in this big world. For so long I was content in my small farm life and with the intrusion into that life by this random man… criminal… savior? It did not matter who he was, what mattered is that it changed everything.

“No.”

“Well then, what is it that you want?” He asked, but did not wait for an answer. “When you figure it out, go for it. Dream for it. Reach for it. And don’t look back.”

It was so simple to answer if I would have just asked the question. I woke up that morning expecting my normal, peaceful routine. I would do my chores and then go inside, eat breakfast, and read a book. And that day, eventually, I did just that. Except from that point on, instead of just reading, I dreamed. Every morning was filled with impossibilities that became possible, a thousand adventures I had not gone on yet, and one person who made it possible. I thank Dan Cooper every morning I open my eyes. For just like growing up on the farm, my brief time with him helped me become the person I am today. Life is good. I left the farm when I turned nineteen, my parents were disappointed, but they understood. My little brother took over the farm and loved every single minute of it. I am sure that helped sooth the sting of me leaving.

As for Dan, I gave him two bottles of fresh milk, a carton of eggs, three loaves of bread, and a round of cheese to take with him when he left two days later. He gave me a twenty-dollar bill in return.

“Be careful where you spend that,” he said as he winked.

The weather was better, but he still looked like hell. As I watched him walk off into the woods, I waited for him to turn around so I could give him one final wave. But he continued slowly trudging forward, not looking back.

I still have that twenty. I had it framed and it has pride of place above the desk in my office. The first time I heard about the infamous DB Cooper, I was sure who the man was in the big red barn all those years ago. I thought about taking the twenty dollar bill to the FBI, but I never did. Because I knew.

END