But she’s not his mother
Every year on Mother’s Day, Lynnwood Armstrong calls Grace Callaway to wish her a happy Mother’s Day, and to chat. Grace isn’t Lynnwood’s mother; she is his best friend’s mother. So why does he call her?
Tragedy links them
On May 9, 1980, Armstrong and Grace’s son, Chip Callaway, were on a Greyhound bus, heading back to college. Armstrong got off in Tampa, the last stop before the Skyway bridge; Chip stayed on the bus to continue his trip. The day was uncharacteristically rainy and overcast, limiting vision on the four-lane bridge. But cars, trucks, and the Greyhound drove across unaware that a tragedy was unfolding in the water below.
The tanker
In the churning waters, a 608-foot phosphate tanker, the MV Summit Venture struggled to stay in the shipping channel, buffeted by the rain and wind.
Blinded by the storm, the wind-blown 19,734-ton Summit Venture crashed into a support column of the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge just after 7:30 a.m. The 609-foot ship’s impact sent a 1,200 to 1,400 foot span plunging 15 stories into Tampa Bay.(10 Tampa Bay, May 9, 2022)
When the tanker hit, the bridge collapsed, sending the bus and a pickup into the water. Recalling that day, Lynnwood said, “When I saw them…
