So I was at home for about 2 days before heading back to Provo - and the reality of life. This was the 1st time I was making the 1100 mile drive alone. But I was excited to be traveling in my new car. I stalked up on my family's CD's and music collection, packed myself up and hit the road at about 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning. My beloved roomies were leaving Sunday-ish so I was motivated to get there with enough time to reunite and then say my goodbyes. It was pouring rain the whole route across South Dakota, so I was annoyed I couldn't use cruise control and even more annoyed at those dang semi's that splash water all over us smaller vehicles making it even more frightening. When buying this car we had been warned that the gas gage is a little off, but I wasn't too worried about it. I was planning on stopping in Moorcroft, WY to get gas when my car died and I coasted to the side of the interstate - only 4 miles from my destination.
(Disclaimer: the gage turned out to be 1/4 TANK off.....who knew?....so I didn't realize that was the issue with my car when it first shut down.)
As I felt the tears starting to come and the panic starting to rise, I resorted to my 6-year-old state and whipped out my phone to call my daddy. He managed to contact a mechanic to come out and scope out the situation. It wasn't looking like good news when as I very last thought he mentioned it could just be out of gas. So he drove into town and got me some gas then came back and filled my tank a bit. It started beautifully! You can imagine my relief. Because of this incidence I was delayed a couple of hours, but could still make it to Utah by 9 or 10 p.m. This mechanic followed me to the gas station in town and waited while I filled it up to make sure it would start again. Nice guy. And I was on the road once again......ugh.
Then, about 10 miles outside of Evanston, where I again planned to stop for gas, my car quit on me again and I coasted to the side of the road and switched on my flashers. I distinctly remember my only thought being, "Well, guess I better start walking." I was mad at myself, thinking I had let it run out of gas again, even though I had been cautiously monitoring it to prevent the situation I had experienced several hours before and had 1/2 tank left. I knew calling my dad wasn't going to get me anywhere this time around so I didn't bother with that option. I was confident someone would see me and stop to help. As I was walking in my shorts and flip flops I realized how cold it was getting, not to mention dark. I got about 1/2 a mile when a small black car rolled up beside me. No worries, I scoped it out before hopping in the car with my new best friend and life savor, Alfredo - Freddy for short. I immediately felt okay about getting in the car with this perfect stranger in the middle of the canyon as it was getting dark. Sounds crazy, I know - but, I just knew it was okay.
Let me tell you a little bit about Alfredo Gonzalez - yes, he is Mexican. He is 6'4" and lives in California with his wife and two teenage kids. He works for the Union Railroad as a computer programmer or something of the sort, so travels all around the country every few weeks. He was heading back home to see his family when he found me. Coincidentally, he was delayed about 14 hours because the road he was on closed because of snow. It had just opened back up when he was thinking he would be on his way to Cali again...until he decided to help me. This guy has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met.
Despite thinking I was an idiot girl for walking along the side of an interstate with cars whizzing past me, Freddy took me into Evanston and went into Wal-Mart with me to get a gas can then we went and filled it up. He took me back to my car and filled it up for me. To my horror, it still wouldn't start. Freddy suggested my battery died because I had left my emergency lights on.....
It was really chilly and dark at this point, so he got his big coat and let me wear it, then pulled his tool bag out of his car. He kept telling me to go sit in his car where it was warmer, but of course I refused. I'm not that delicate. I had the job of holding the flashlight. He meddled with a variety of things but we still couldn't get the dang Vue to start.
So, we resorted to Triple A. Freddy has a card where he pays $50 a year for membership. Pretty sweet deal, especially in this instance. This new buddy of mine claimed it was his car. We called Triple A and after a lot of stress and making phone calls back and forth, a lady shows up with jumper cables - which didn't work either. We even tried roll-starting it, but this was also unsuccessful.
You can imagine my mother's surprise when she calls me around 9:30, when I was expected to arrive in Provo, and I tell her I haven't even gotten to Evanston yet......
So, basically we spent a few hours trying everything we could possibly think of, but nothing worked. I just stood there in awe of the fact that these people were helping me. We eventually got a tow truck and the same lady that tried to jump my car towed me clear to Provo - all under Freddy's Triple A discount, so it costed me a mere $60. Huge blessing. All in all, Freddy stayed with me for a total of 7 hours. All he said was, "I go till the end." He was a super cool guy and so easy to talk to. He made me laugh and was trying so hard to keep me calm enough to not freak out about the whole situation or feel bad for delayig him. He even tipped the tow truck driver and made sure I was ok before he sent me on my way. The only compensation he would accept was a big hug.
I finally rolled into Provo at 2 a.m., happy to be there, sad I missed out on seeing Rachel. I fell into bed exhausted by the days events.
And, believe it or not, I get a phone call from Freddy in the morning. He called to make sure I made it to Provo okay and to give me further advice on what to do with my car. He said he had been thinking of what could possibly be wrong with it all night, as he was still driving to California.
Angel in disguise? I definitely believe it. :)
So, after getting stuck in Samoa, and having a really rough and eventful time getting back to Utah, I decided that the universe just pretty much is against me. Maybe it's a sign I was never supposed to leave New Zealand! I keep dreaming that was it at least, haha.
My mom just said, "If it wasn't for bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all."
By the way, after another week plus 2 mechanics (both named Mike), my car was fixed. Turns out my engine blew out....yep. That would happen to me. So I had a new one put it. Might as well take my right leg.
No problems with it since though....this car is slowly earning my trust back.
No comments:
Post a Comment