Saturday Gripes

Friday was just too pleasant. I was out in the canoe with Tommy and Manti, in full sun on water, and I didn't get a sunburn or hurt feelings. It was just too good a day and Kitty's Cosmic Thumb would not be disregarded.

Manti had planned to go to the Nashville Temple with the young single adult group from our stake. He had to be in Powder Springs at 10am to ride with the group. I had to be at work at 9am, so that meant Tommy had to take him in order for us to keep both cars and not have Manti driving home on the interstate at midnight. (Yeah, they were making it a one-day trip.) So sounds do-able, right?

We get up at 7am, Manti had already gotten up and I didn't have to wake him! Nice start! I get a shower and when I get out, Tommy has gotten up and gotten dressed. Awesome! This is looking great,...right? And that's about when the forces of darkness struck. Suddenly Tommy raced past me making weird "almost burp" noises. He nearly takes down the bathroom door making the turn into the bathroom and when he reaches the toilet, he heaves harder than the earth does when it quakes! Poor man, that had to hurt! So before the "last supper" finished coming up, I was on the phone with my boss,...messing up her day by asking her to leave the company she had at her house and open the shop so I could take Manti to Powder Springs. I promised to be back to the shop by noon, so she reluctantly agreed. I got Manti to leave a little earlier to help me deal with the stress I was feeling and we took off to I-20.

When we got to Carrollton, I had to get a little gas.
We get the majority of our monthly income at the end of the month, which makes the week before that date a tough one. We were a little short, since bills are a little larger right now. I put $20 into my gas tank and got back on the road. That would last until my small paycheck on Monday. So I headed to the stake center and we arrived about 10 minutes early. He got out of the car and joined the group that had started forming in the parking lot, so I went ahead and left him, worrying something was going to go wrong. I just had a feeling it would. I called Manti a couple times checking to see if rides had gotten there and making sure he didn't need any money. I just didn't feel secure about the day. He answered that all was well everytime I talked to him, so I guess it was and I just headed on towards home. I made excellent time too, and got back to Carrollton at 11am! An hour early! YAY! So I had $10 left in my purse. I decided to stop at Wendy's and get a burger for my lunch. I spent $5 on my lunch and was proud of myself for not pigging out. I went back out to my car, got in, cranked it and wondered why it sounded funny. I backed up and cut my wheel so I would be in the driving lane,... and the car sputtered and died. I tried to crank it back up, and nothing! My heart stopped. I put the car in neutral and tried again. The engine turned over.....and over.....and over.....but wouldn't start. The car parked next to me watched but didn't offer anything. So I turned on my flashes because I was crossways of the driving lane and nobody would get around me without getting into the drive-thru lane. He saw me put on my flasher, and backed up to me anyway. Then the #$%&! had the nerve to honk his horn at me. I just sat there in my seat, flashers flashing, and stared back at him. He apparently got the message and pulled forward and out of there. Now why did he insist on another inch if he was clear in front? Yeah that's what I think too.... dumb###!

Instead of crying right away, I got out of the car and hoped I wasn't seeing smoke come out from under the hood. I went inside and pulled my phone out of my pocket to call Tommy. He was no longer allowed to be sick. I was stranded, and that trumps sick! Then I called my boss, Linda and apologized and told her what was wrong. At least it was Wendy's, not even a full 5 minutes from the shop, and the shop is just 15 minutes from home. When I hung up the phone, I stood at the window staring at my gut feeling turned reality. I could just picture somebody flying around the corner of that building and hitting my pretty red Dodge Durango....my STUPID DEAD DURANGO THAT WAS NOT MAKING MY DAY PLEASANT! I turned around and looked to see who all was in the store and noticed a man in a striped shirt. I didn't even let myself think about it, I just walked up to him and asked if he would be kind enough to help me roll my car out of the driving lane and back into a parking space. He laid everything in his hands onto a table and went out with me. I was dumbfounded at how quickly and completely he was willing to help me! Then I noticed on his shirt that he had a patch on it with his name (whatever that was) and that he was an oil lubrication specialist or something. That meant he knew a little about cars! WHEW!

So me and Mr. Oil Lube got out to the car, I put it in neutral and steered and pushed a little (like a girl) while he put more muscle into the back end and together we rolled it over into a parking place. He asked me to open the hood and I popped it for him. He pointed out the radiator hose in the front and told me that it is supposed to be in one piece, and if Tommy gets one from the parts house, this is most likely to happen again. To avoid this split, he needs to get one from the Dodge dealership----that place that "loves" to see US coming!

The man left and I sat back in the car, windows down so I wouldn't suffocate while I cried my eyes out for not making Manti stay home instead. I ate my lunch while I sat...wouldn't you know it, they drowned my burger in mustard :(

Tommy picked me up and took me to the shop. Then I cashed a check (thank goodness its Saturday and Linda won't be depositing that until Monday about noon...and she pays me Monday about 10! Guess where I'll be Monday morning!) and handed Tommy some money. He went to the parts place and got a clamp to sort of "bandage" the hose. Then he brought the Durango to the shop and Linda came back to pick Tommy up and took him back over to Wendy's to get the Camry. Tommy stayed the rest of the day with me.

And then it rained,....pretty hard, with thunder and stuff. That was ok, it didn't bother me a lot,....until Tommy's phone rang. Mesa was locked out of the house. The 2 little boys were inside, and both were asleep since it was naptime! She had gone outside to get the laundry off the clothesline before the rain got it, and accidentally locked herself out. The rain and thunder were plentiful and she couldn't get in! Glad our porch has a roof! She finally got the boys awake and they let her in so I could stop worrying.

Closing time came, we left and went home. Time to watch the clock tick the hours by till Manti gets back. Can't believe we still have to drive an hour and half away to get him! About 7pm Manti tells me he could make it easier by spending the night with one of the other guys and us pick him up tomorrow. After about 30 minutes, we finally worked it out to pick him up in Douglasville tomorrow afternoon, which means we don't have to go to Powder Springs at midnight. Thank goodness for that!