![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
We've been having car trouble. More specifically, truck trouble. My husband's pickup had developed a nasty tic...in that he could start the thing, drive for about a mile, and stall. Not good.
What's even less good? The nearest Dodge dealer is 30 miles away. Our car insurance covers towing (yay!), but we have to submit the bill for reimbursement (boo!), which means we fork out the bucks up front and wait...wait...wait...for a check. *sigh* Still, it had to be fixed. And spouse manages a retail store and has flaky employees. It's up to me to get things done. Thus, last Saturday morning, bright and early, a tow truck driver came to the house, yanked my husband's truck up by its rear axle, and $117 and 45 minutes later, the truck and I are at the Dodge dealer.
Lamar, the tow truck driver, and I had a nice chat on the way down: tornadoes and the vagaries of fate, the politics of towing, and how much he loves his job. Good man. I'm glad I met him. He dropped the pickup off behind the dealership service department, we waved goodbye, and I went inside to speak to the service writer.
Five minutes later I was back outside, getting in Mom's car (she had followed us) to go home. "They're backed up," I said. "They won't even be able to look at it until Tuesday, and it probably won't be ready until Friday."
My father and uncle were out of town, leaving an extra vehicle available until at least Wednesday. Sunday evening, spouse and I retrieved the extra vehicle and he drove it to work this week. Yesterday morning, the dealership told us the truck would be ready that afternoon; and Mom called to say Daddy and Uncle Earl would be back that night, and they needed the other car back. Timing is everything, and this time, for once, all the timing worked out.
I corralled my friend Susie, we both left work early yesterday and she drove me to the dealership and dropped me off.
The repair bill was slightly less than expected -- always a good thing. Less than 15 minutes later, truck and I were back on the road headed home.
I don't drive spouse's truck very often, and all its knobs and gizmos, like lights and cruise control, are in unaccustomed places. While I was driving through town, I was fiddling with this, and adjusting that, and trying to find NPR on the radio dial, and somehow I managed to miss the turnoff for the highway home. Just cruising along, listening to All Things Considered...slowly, ever so slowly, the surrounding not-quite-familiar countryside seeped into my consciousness and...and...oh wait! That's the Army base! How did I get here?
I was headed east, not north. Right about then, I recognized a familiar round-about intersection and realized I was in downtown Jacksonville and oh look! The yarn store. The cosmos had decided I needed to buy more yarn and steered me to The Taming of the Ewe. Oh, thank you, cosmos. I yield to your divine authority.
I tamed my wallet to the tune of some $40. Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2011 (which they weren't actually supposed to sell until September 6, I think, so don't tell anyone), and two skeins of Cascade Ultra Pima.
It was fate. Really. If I hadn't had to tow my husband's pickup, I never would have bought that yarn. Honest. Pinky swear and everything. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
BTW, I knew spouse wouldn't go for such a tale. So I didn't tell him. Eventually, he'll notice the yarn. By then, I'll be able to say, "Oh, honey, I've had that yarn for ages!"
(Crossposted from Avantaknits. Comment here or there, as you please.)
The offending machinery
What's even less good? The nearest Dodge dealer is 30 miles away. Our car insurance covers towing (yay!), but we have to submit the bill for reimbursement (boo!), which means we fork out the bucks up front and wait...wait...wait...for a check. *sigh* Still, it had to be fixed. And spouse manages a retail store and has flaky employees. It's up to me to get things done. Thus, last Saturday morning, bright and early, a tow truck driver came to the house, yanked my husband's truck up by its rear axle, and $117 and 45 minutes later, the truck and I are at the Dodge dealer.
Lamar, the tow truck driver, and I had a nice chat on the way down: tornadoes and the vagaries of fate, the politics of towing, and how much he loves his job. Good man. I'm glad I met him. He dropped the pickup off behind the dealership service department, we waved goodbye, and I went inside to speak to the service writer.
Five minutes later I was back outside, getting in Mom's car (she had followed us) to go home. "They're backed up," I said. "They won't even be able to look at it until Tuesday, and it probably won't be ready until Friday."
My father and uncle were out of town, leaving an extra vehicle available until at least Wednesday. Sunday evening, spouse and I retrieved the extra vehicle and he drove it to work this week. Yesterday morning, the dealership told us the truck would be ready that afternoon; and Mom called to say Daddy and Uncle Earl would be back that night, and they needed the other car back. Timing is everything, and this time, for once, all the timing worked out.
I corralled my friend Susie, we both left work early yesterday and she drove me to the dealership and dropped me off.
The repair bill was slightly less than expected -- always a good thing. Less than 15 minutes later, truck and I were back on the road headed home.
I don't drive spouse's truck very often, and all its knobs and gizmos, like lights and cruise control, are in unaccustomed places. While I was driving through town, I was fiddling with this, and adjusting that, and trying to find NPR on the radio dial, and somehow I managed to miss the turnoff for the highway home. Just cruising along, listening to All Things Considered...slowly, ever so slowly, the surrounding not-quite-familiar countryside seeped into my consciousness and...and...oh wait! That's the Army base! How did I get here?
I was headed east, not north. Right about then, I recognized a familiar round-about intersection and realized I was in downtown Jacksonville and oh look! The yarn store. The cosmos had decided I needed to buy more yarn and steered me to The Taming of the Ewe. Oh, thank you, cosmos. I yield to your divine authority.
I tamed my wallet to the tune of some $40. Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2011 (which they weren't actually supposed to sell until September 6, I think, so don't tell anyone), and two skeins of Cascade Ultra Pima.
It was fate. Really. If I hadn't had to tow my husband's pickup, I never would have bought that yarn. Honest. Pinky swear and everything. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
BTW, I knew spouse wouldn't go for such a tale. So I didn't tell him. Eventually, he'll notice the yarn. By then, I'll be able to say, "Oh, honey, I've had that yarn for ages!"
(Crossposted from Avantaknits. Comment here or there, as you please.)
