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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

New car? Yeah right. What was I thinking?

I've needed new tired on my car for a very LONG time. On Saturday mac and I were headed to a movie and on the highway we had a blow out. Mac and ITSam changed the tire and it was determined that I was getting new tires, come hell or high water.

So yesterday I got 4 brand new tires. I can't remember the last time I had new tires. Oh wait... that would be never. The few times I've had tire issues, they're been repaired or I've had a "slightly used" tire put on. After I got the 4 new ones yesterday, I proclaimed driving my car was like "driving a new car! It's such a smooth ride now!" Me and my big damn mouth.

Picture this, if you will. It's snowing. All. Day. Long. Steadily. It's not stopping nor slowing down. There;s about 4 inches on the ground now. The wind is slightly blowing. We have a snow mess out there. And it's about 28 degrees. Mac calls me after school to report that the car will not start. I'm trying to get him to describe the sound the car makes when he turns the key to determine if the battery is D*E*A*D or... something else. As he's telling me the car "almost" starts and then doesn't the principal comes to help Mac. Mac said he would call me back.

I have to sit in the front office of Alcatraz to await his return call because I have no cell service in the library. I wait and wait. Of course everyone wants to know what's happening and I tell them. Twenty minutes go by and I finally try to call mac again and get no answer.

Then the school office phone rings and... it's one of the Alcatraz secretaries. She left (with her husband) to get her girls from school; they go to the same school as Mac. She saw Mac was having car trouble and was told by all the adults who were helping him (2 teachers and the principal) that the car wouldn't start so she was bringing Mac to me at school. Then she and her husband offered to take us home- into town about 10 miles one way out of their way because they LIVE on the Alcatraz campus.

I was so thankful to them both. And to the folks who stood in the blizzard at mac's school. I was going to call our public transit system for rides but they insisted. MY principal and guidance counselor both offered to run us home, both gentlemen live 2 miles from Alcatraz so they would be going out of their ways as well. I'm thankful for wonderful people who helped us & who offered aid. I also had a fellow teacher friend say she would come get us in the morning if we have school, too.

The guys who were helping Mac said it could be anything from a frozn fule line, fuel filter, corroded battery wires, fuel injection issues to a problem with the starter or a combination. Sheesh. Great. None of that sounds very promising.

BUT what torques me off is that yesterday I blabbered my big, stupid mouth about my "new" wonderful car feeling and here I am, now, stranded. If it's not one thing, it's another.

Cars suck.

Maggie

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My cars exhaust is starting to "blow" and will have to be replaced so I know just how you feel!
I hope you get your car sorted soon.

Maggie said...

Paul- I feel like cars like I do about computers- I want them to work, love them when they do work, and hate 'em when they don't! Sorry to hear about your auto issues. Hope you get YOUR car sorted soon, too. Too bad we don't live closer or we could share a ride until one ours kicks it. haha!

Bragger said...

You are so right about the suckiness of having to depend upon things that ultimately LET US DOWN. And this time I'm talking about cars, not people. I hope you get it worked out!