I Gave Him the Ride of His Life - Again!

This is Part 2 of "If it Ain't Broken..." if you missed it, you can read it here. If you don't want to read part 1, I'll just sum it up for you. Every vehicle (car, work van, tractor, mowers) we own has broken down this year. Every vehicle except our little red pick-up, and that's because it claimed the year before as it's year to visit the mechanic several times. So finally, fine-all-ly, all our vehicles were in tip top running shape. Sigh of relief.

(Insert evil laugh here.) Hubby and I were on our way home from the painting job, and after a few gutter estimates, driving our little red truck. The time was 7 p.m. and we were happy to be almost home. Almost. We were driving merrily along, when all of a sudden, the truck made a jerk, and then promptly lost power. Hubby and I just looked at each other. No words were needed. We were thinking the exact same thing..."No freaking way!! Are you kidding me????" 

Luckily, this happened right beside a large parking lot, so we just coasted right into it. And, luckily, Amazing Daughter was home, so we called her to bring the big chain so we could have the truck pulled to the mechanic's. While we waited for her to arrive, Hubby checked the gas tank. He had just filled it the day before, and the gas gauge registered half-full, so he was confident that there was gas in it. However, the gas tank was empty. So, we quickly called A.D. back and told her to bring a gas can. Well, she was already on her way, so she had to turn around, go back to the house, get the gas can, and come back. 

In the meantime, we tried to contact my brother to borrow his truck to pull ours.  When A.D. arrived, Hubby put gas in the truck and we crossed our fingers as he turned the ignition. Not surprisingly, nothing happened. 

By now, it's 8:00, and we're starving. No word from my brother. So Hubby sent me and A.D. to Wendy's. He told me what he wanted from the 99 cent menu. (I couldn't remember precisely, but figured I'd recognize it when I saw the menu.) The only chicken item was nuggets, which he doesn't usually go for, but, that's what I ordered for him. When A.D. ordered the chicken sandwich off the $1.19 menu, I realized that was probably what he wanted. Oh well. I'm sure nuggets will be fine. When we got to the "pay window", A.D. decided that she wanted Diet Coke to drink, could they add that on? Oh boy. You do NOT want to confuse those poor people like that. It caused quite a stir, but she did indeed get her Diet Coke. They gave us our order, and we drove off. As I was going through the bag, I noticed that there were no nuggets in the bag. Great.  So, we turned around, and went back for our nuggets. We told them of the mistake, and I ordered another chicken sandwich for good measure. They gave us our chicken sandwich right away, but had to "pull up and park" and wait for the nuggets. Apparently, in the confusion of the Diet Coke disaster, they had forgotten to even make the nuggets! By the time they brought the nuggets, Hubby is calling to find out what in the world happened to us! I started to explain the whole mess, but he did not want to hear it. My brother was finally home, and we were to stop by and get his truck.  A.D. and I started cramming french fries in our mouths so we could eat them while they were still hot. 

So now, it's about 8:30, and getting dark. I have to drive my brother's truck. I recently had to make a trip to the eye doctor. Yes, it finally happened. Can't see distance, can't see to read equals bi-focals. However, when I'm painting, I don't need glasses, plus I don't want to get them splattered with paint, so I didn't have my glasses with me. But, now I had to drive. Not. Good. But, I drove.

By the time I met up with Hubby and A.D., he had eaten his chicken SANDWICH. (Whew! Good thing I ordered it the second time around. A.D. and I split the nuggets.) She found a short-cut, I took the long way, as usual.

Hubby is hooking up the chain, and I realize that I will be doing the pulling. Just to make sure, I ask if he wants me in our truck doing the steering. No. I have to pull.

O.K. Now, I have to pause to tell another story. Several years ago, I took our car to get a regular oil change. I pulled in, they changed the oil, told me to start my car, and nothing happened. It was deader than a door nail. They quickly said it was not due to anything they had done, and pushed me and my car out of the garage to make room for the next customer. Nice. I called Hubby to come to my rescue. He came. He had me get in the truck so he could hook up the chain. He had planned to drive the truck (which I didn't know), but when I looked back to see what he was doing, I saw him give the "forward ho!" motion. I crapped a little in my pants, checked for traffic, it was clear, and off I went, pulling him behind me. I was amazed at how easily the truck pulled the car. I hardly knew it was behind me. Don't worry! I was very aware. I knew that I would have to slow down gradually when we got to a stop light. Anyway, we made it just fine to the mechanic's. Luckily, it was a straight two mile drive. I thought I did a very good job, never having pulled anything before, nor having any last minute instructions from Hubby. When we parked the car, poor Hubby got out. He was shaking and dripping with sweat. Apparently, I mis-read his "forward ho!" motion. It was really a "pull up just a little" motion. Opps. Yes, it was the longest two mile ride of his life!

Now you understand why I thought I'd be the pull-ee instead of the pull-er. 
This time he gave me a few instructions. Don't go over 35 mph. (He swears I was driving 50 mph the first time. I wasn't.) Keep the chain taunt. OK, I'll do my best. I didn't mention that I couldn't see all that well because my glasses were at home. So, I just spent the entire trip praying. So, off we started, with Amazing Daughter following us. I turned on my emergency blinkers and kept my speed at 25 mph. I quickly discovered what happens when the chain is not taunt. Jerkiness. I thought I was doing a fairly good job, even though I experienced a few jerks. However, when I checked my rearview mirror, I caught a glimpse of Hubby, arms flailing in a forward direction while yelling, "Gooooooo!" Apparently, now I'm driving too slow. Geesh! I had to make a few turns, which made me nervous, but I managed. We all finally made it to the mechanic's. I got the truck pulled into it's parking spot, Hubby got out, exclaiming, "Thank God, that trip is over!"  Amen to that!

I promptly got out of my brother's truck, and got in with Amazing Daughter. I didn't want to hear a lecture of my bad driving. We got my brother's truck safely delivered back to him, and finally made it home by 9:00. That was a long two hours!

Turns out the ignition starter went out. Or something like that. So now our last remaining vehicle, our riding mower, is the only one still waiting to be repaired. Fingers crossed that nothing else breaks down!

Until next time.

Tweet