It seems like everything's been breaking lately. I spilled some water (and a little soil) from a houseplant into my keyboard the other day killing the space bar, tab key and the command key for cutting and pasting. (Do.you.have.any.idea.how.difficult.it.is.to.type.without.
a.space.bar?) They turned off the water in my building last week, and after it was back on and I flushed the toilet, there was a mighty explosion in the pipes - and the toilet has not been the same since. I'll spare you more examples of broken stuff, but trust me, it's been a little weird.
So it was no surprise, really, when I turned into the Trader Joe's parking lot this evening with my brakes making a grinding noise that would scare any sensible woman. It came on suddenly, though not totally out of the blue, (the car has been shaking when I use the brakes at speeds over 40 mph, for about six months.) Darn it, I just wanted to grab a couple of things at the store and get home to dinner... maybe do a load or three of laundry... and now this. I called A., and it turns out that he was at Mom's, about to have dinner before a band rehearsal. He came right down, drove the car around the parking lot once, and said yep, we've gotta fix that.
He followed me home as I drove the back streets to the homestead. Oddly, there was no grinding nor squealing the whole way there! Mom set an extra place at the table for me (dinner was yummy.) A. set to work on my car right after dinner, bless him, and did not get to his rehearsal (long planned with great difficulty). Dad observed and advised, made phone calls to Kragen's for parts. 'Round about 8:30 or 9, I was getting pretty fed up and antsy, ready to be HOME, thankyouverymuch. I decided to take a walk, and called T. while I went up the hill to go a couple of laps around the high school track.
As I recounted my evening to T, my impatience and annoyance melted away. Here I am, driving an 8 year old car with 97K miles on it. The only thing I've ever had to do to it is replace one set of tires, one battery, and one set of brakes. What a good car. The brakes did not give way until I was safely on El Camino ready to pull into a parking lot, after driving in heavy traffic for nearly an hour. A. was just THREE miles away, not 35 miles away at his house. And he knew how to fix my car in one short evening. I got a free meal, and got to share time with my family. I have a son and father who love me and stopped everything they were doing tonight, to make sure I had a car to drive. I have a mother who waited patiently with me, and a daughter who commiserated with me. I have a dear friend who let me talk it all out.
Talk about blessings. Wow. I'm rich.
a.space.bar?) They turned off the water in my building last week, and after it was back on and I flushed the toilet, there was a mighty explosion in the pipes - and the toilet has not been the same since. I'll spare you more examples of broken stuff, but trust me, it's been a little weird.
So it was no surprise, really, when I turned into the Trader Joe's parking lot this evening with my brakes making a grinding noise that would scare any sensible woman. It came on suddenly, though not totally out of the blue, (the car has been shaking when I use the brakes at speeds over 40 mph, for about six months.) Darn it, I just wanted to grab a couple of things at the store and get home to dinner... maybe do a load or three of laundry... and now this. I called A., and it turns out that he was at Mom's, about to have dinner before a band rehearsal. He came right down, drove the car around the parking lot once, and said yep, we've gotta fix that.
He followed me home as I drove the back streets to the homestead. Oddly, there was no grinding nor squealing the whole way there! Mom set an extra place at the table for me (dinner was yummy.) A. set to work on my car right after dinner, bless him, and did not get to his rehearsal (long planned with great difficulty). Dad observed and advised, made phone calls to Kragen's for parts. 'Round about 8:30 or 9, I was getting pretty fed up and antsy, ready to be HOME, thankyouverymuch. I decided to take a walk, and called T. while I went up the hill to go a couple of laps around the high school track.
As I recounted my evening to T, my impatience and annoyance melted away. Here I am, driving an 8 year old car with 97K miles on it. The only thing I've ever had to do to it is replace one set of tires, one battery, and one set of brakes. What a good car. The brakes did not give way until I was safely on El Camino ready to pull into a parking lot, after driving in heavy traffic for nearly an hour. A. was just THREE miles away, not 35 miles away at his house. And he knew how to fix my car in one short evening. I got a free meal, and got to share time with my family. I have a son and father who love me and stopped everything they were doing tonight, to make sure I had a car to drive. I have a mother who waited patiently with me, and a daughter who commiserated with me. I have a dear friend who let me talk it all out.
Talk about blessings. Wow. I'm rich.
2 comments:
Wow-does your car (a Toyota?) have that many miles on it now? I remember when it was new! (sigh). I had to smile when you mentioned your dad called Kragen's. My dad was the new manager of the Salinas Kragen's when we moved there from San Jose 40 years ago. My dad knew Mr. Kragen back in the day. I have been fortunate as well to be in the right place at the right time when car problems occur. I think each of us has a guardian angel beside us when we drive, I really do. Love, Andrea
Actually, I think it's more like 98K now. Toyotas are the BEST!
KQ
Post a Comment