sidelined in saint augustine

Remember about seven years ago, when the bfe and I were returning from O-hi-O?

"Are you talking about your Field of Dreams trip? And y'all getting stranded in Macon that night and having to stay at your nephew Zach's house?"

Yes, that would be the time in August of 2012. Fortunately, Zach had been home and we were able to get a rental car the next day.
I was not as lucky this time around when the same problem arose.

"Are you saying the gear shift cable broke again???"

Sadly, yes. I was returning from Orlando and decided to pull over at the rest area before continuing toward Jacksonville. Big mistake. I have cried and cried about opting to stop instead of driving on.

"Oh, no! You don't play 'what if'! Why were you playing that useless game?"

Well, I was stranded for four hours before the tow truck came. The rest area had only bath rooms and vending machines, no air conditioned inner sanctum at all. It truly was bare bones. To top it off, I had almost no cell phone signal out there and had to keep moving around to locate signal that would stay for long enough to send a message or complete a call. I would lose signal just because the breeze shifted! It was so frustrating and scary!

"How stressful that must have been. I am so sorry to hear you had to go through that. I thought you had Road Assistance through GEICO."

I do and I had called them the moment that my gear shift knob had wobbled around, no longer transmitting orders to my clutch. I had been backing out of the parking space, ready to get back onto I-95, and suddenly the knob went slack. I was able to roll back into the space and out of the traffic, but I could not do anything else.

"So, you had called for road assistance..."

And I was told, at 1:07 PM, that it would be ninety minutes until the tow truck arrived. Ninety minutes. So, when Adkison Towing texted me, I advised them that I had very poor reception, but would be waiting.
And so I did, trying to make the best of the situation, watching for their arrival.

"And they stood you up?! Did you report them?"

Hang on, let me continue.
Two hours later, Taylor at GEICO called me to check on me. I had been in mid-stride, searching for signal when my phone miraculously rang! I stopped immediately, holding the awkward pose, hoping to maintain signal... and I did, long enough for him to get Adkison on the line, long enough to clarify where I was, long enough for them to send out a second truck operator.

"What's that about clarifying where you were? You had told them the Rest Area at Mile 304 on I-95 North, had you not?"

I had, but the first GEICO person, Tiesha, had entered an address of "I-95 N and State Road 206". The first driver had gone there and reported that I was not there. Of course I wasn't! That was a mile farther up the road! When I found that out, I started to lose it.

"Oh, I am so sorry!"

When the second tow driver had called, my phone had no signal, but he left a message. So I called him back and explained that there was no intersection, that the Rest Area was at Mile 304, directly off the interstate, and that I was alone and falling apart... and he assured me that he would find me and be there. I thanked him and told him I would be watching as he traveled from Mile 323 on I-95 South to where I was. Then my voice had broken and he again assured me that he would not leave me there.
I proceeded to cry, off and on, for the next two hours until he did, indeed, find me.
That was just before five PM.

"You were stranded for four hours??? That's horrible!"

It truly was.
You know, earlier in the day, as I was driving, I had been singing "Send Me An Angel". It was really in response to a conversation with Christina about getting married again. So, as I drove on Toll Road 417 away from Orlando, the song had popped into my head.
Rick was definitely the answer to that unknown prayer.

"Rick?"

The second driver from Adkison.
He put me into his truck, into the cool, while he loaded my dear car onto his truck.
When he went to report that he had me and the car, he found he had no signal, either.
As he could not have an address sent to him, he took me up to the next exit so I could contact GEICO and receive instructions.
He even bought me a soda at the truck stop.

"How very nice of him!"

It really was.
He had noticed my dogtag on my keyring and asked about my service. That's when I found out he'd been in the Marines for six years and stationed in Okinawa for five of them. He'd married an Okinawan and they had a daughter who now lived in Jacksonville.
Talking about our military past was very calming to me.

"Very good! And where did he take the car?"

GEICO had found the nearest dealership for my 2001 Saturn. That meant Jack Wilson Buick GMC, in Saint Augustine, was the place okayed for the tow. Fortunately, it was well within the free twenty mile tow zone covered by my Road Assistance.

"What a fortunate break for you!"

Yes, that was good.
The bad thing was the Service Department was closed already and wouldn't be open until Monday.
It was after six PM by this time.
I had to just leave her there with a request for them to diagnosis her problem and hopefully repair her.
That made me weepy again.
Plus, it turned out the car rental businesses were already closed for the day, too.
That meant I would be stuck in Saint Augustine overnight.

"Oh, no. Just because it had taken so long for you to get there?"

Just because I had not driven straight through.
Just because I had stopped to pee and get a soda.
It was all I could do to not just curl up and sob.
And Rick stayed right there that whole time.
It had already been a long day for him, but he persisted in staying with me.
Also, the receptionist at the dealership helped me, too, finding phone numbers for Budget, for Enterprise, for the Days Inn a bit farther up the road.

"How good of her to help. And how very kind of Rick to stay! Once a Marine, always a Marine... and a gentleman."

Most definitely.
After I had secured a reservation for the night in one of the twelve vacant rooms, Rick even took me there. Then he escorted me into the lobby and made sure that reservation was honored.
I gave him all the cash I had on me. It was only twenty-three dollars, but I had to do what I could to honor his kind treatment of me, going above and beyond what was required of him as a tow truck driver.

"Absolutely. I'm sure he appreciated the gesture."

Oh, he tried to get me to keep the money, but I convinced him that I wanted him to have that token of thanks.
He really had been very kind.
Plus, he seemed familiar to me, so that had helped to calm me down.

"You thought you might have known him in Okinawa?"

No, that wasn't it at all. He was about early to mid-forties, so he would have been a little kid when I was there.
What made him seem familiar was his appearance and his build.
I even asked him if he had a brother or a cousin named Neal that worked in Savannah.
He did not, but said that he had been told before that he seemed familiar to to folks.
I told him I got that a lot, too.

"And what have you been doing since he dropped you off?"

You mean besides sobbing repeatedly like a little child as soon as I reached the safe enclosure of my room?
I sent out word to my amigas and to my first niece and to the running bear and to the bfe.
I was in a two-bed room and would be grateful if someone could join me and return me home.
Barbara offered to do so, but really wasn't up to the drive in the dark.
It was already half-past seven and Savannah was three hours drive.

"So, what happened? You lined up a rental car?"

No.
My dearest Christina Ann has agreed to come to my rescue.
In fact, she had texted, "Do I need to come and get you?"
Then, she had left her daughter with Michael and his twins and is coming for me.

"Oh, that's wonderful!!!"

So, I have dined at the Denny's attached to this very expensive motel.
The food was amazingly good! The chicken breast was seasoned very nicely, the red potatoes were crispy in the right places and the chicken noodle soup I had first was rich and thick!
Then again, I'd had breakfast about nine AM and nothing except two boiled eggs since then.

"Well, I must say, it does look very appetizing there!"

It was, and the portion size was quite good.
I took a walk afterward, hoping to find a gas station with something for the morning.
No such luck... but I did find Village Inn.

"Okay, but I don't get the importance of that."

They have pies, multiple pies.
I had two slices.
"Keep calm and cherry on" and "When life gives you lemons,
make pie."
I had told Rick that I was trying to make lemonade out of my situation, that I was going to invite someone back home to come stay with me and visit this ancient city.
The lemon meringue and the cherry slices were exactly what I needed.
Actually, they were a bit more than I needed.

"They were expensive?"

Oh, not at all, less than four bucks each.
I meant they were too big for me.
I've eaten about half and will save the rest to share with Christina when she arrives.

"What time might that be?"

Her GPS says not quite eleven PM.
So, I'm going to get out of my sweaty clothes and take a relaxing shower.
I seem to be much calmer now, but I'm quite tired.
I think the shower may perk me up until she gets here and gives a long hug.
A very long hug.

"All of that sounds like a very good idea. We'll talk later."

Thanks.

"Okay, you take care. Every thing is going to be all right."

i thank You, God.