i miss my car

Not that she's gone for good, thank God.

 

I had a premonition that something bad was going to happen that night.

It was as I drove west on Liberty, heading for the Savannah Repertory Theatre.

The time was not even 8 PM and dark night had already fallen.

In addition, steady rain was coming down.

I was having difficulty seeing the road through all that, with headlights distracting me.

That's when the thought came.

"I shouldn't be out here in all this. If not for the fact that I already spent $35 and bought the ticket to this play, I would have stayed home."

And why had I bought a ticket online?

Because I know the venue is small.

Even with this performance being on a Thursday night, of the show's second week, I was concerned that it might sell out.

So, there I was, driving in the dark and in the rain.

 

I made it there without mishap.

I even made it into the show and to a seat, as a technical issue had delayed the start.

How very fortunate for me!

I even had what turned out to be an excellent seat.

Everything went very well there, and the show was superb.

It wasn't until after I left that the feeling of dread returned.

Still, the rain was just a steady sprinkle, I should be okay to drive.

I was, too, until a behemoth started crawling up my tailpipe as I drove down Price Street.

Of course the Dodge truck driver had their high beams on, too, lighting up the inside of my car and making it that much more difficult to see the street.

I had thought to continue up Price to Anderson, but, with the jerk so close behind, and not wanting them tailing me all that way, I turned left onto Liberty -

BAMMM!!!

The 5-inch high curbing around that median blew out the front tire!!!

Damn.

I didn't know at the time, but the bottom of my radiator was damaged, too, as well as the front struts, the front tie rod ends, and the condenser for the air conditioner.

Here's what I did know: sitting in a dark area of Liberty Street was not helpful.

I continued driving, limping toward the bright lights of the 3G gas station that I knew would be populated, where I could call for a tow and be safe.

And my dear car got me there.

 

Not only that, but when she needed to be moved for easier access to attach the hooks to pull her onto the tow truck, she acquiesced gracefully.

By that time, it was after 11:30 PM.

I had arrived and called AAA at 10:01 PM, talking to them for almost 8 minutes.

I explained what had happened and told them exactly where I was.

I was told I was the second in queue and they would have a tow truck to me.

At 10:28 PM, I called AAA again.

I was told the tow truck was finishing up a job and should be to me in 16 minutes.

At 11:06 PM, I called AAA again.

The gas station was now closed, but the two bright street lights were still on.

I had been approached by three homeless men by that time.

AAA told me that the night had been busy and it would be at least midnight before the tow truck would be to me.

For real?

So, I played the age card, that I was 65 and had already waited an hour on a rainy night.

I played the health card, that I have atrial fibrillation and cannot be stressed like this with endless waiting and no time of relief in sight.

And I played the race card, too.

You better believe I did.

I told AAA that I was white, in a black side of town, and that the gas station owner had already locked up the store and turned off the pumps and I was alone.

ALONE.

That conversation lasted twelve minutes, all recorded on their end for posterity.

 

I was on the phone with my sis-in-law Laura, having woken her up, when the call came.

It was 11:25 PM and James, the driver for Lowery Towing, was getting off I-16 and headed for me, saying her would be there in about fifteen minutes.

He was there in right at ten.

i thank You, God.

 

By midnight, we were at Firestone on Skidaway.

And that is where my car has been ever since.

Friday, the shop manager called, listing all that a quick perusal had shown him.

Was I sure I didn't want to have a body shop take care of the work?

I was sure.

Did I realize it was going to be expensive?

I did, and I expected it would be over $1ooo.

Did I realize the front rim had been damaged by driving on the blown tire.

Yes, I knew that, but it's what had to be done. Now, I wanted my car to be repaired.

Okay, since that's what I wanted, he'd get back in touch when all the damage was tallied.

So he did, just a few minutes ago.

I told him to disregard the A/C compressor, as the air conditioning had been kaput for years.

Even so, the total came to about $3300.

I told him to do the work.

It was still far less expensive than buying a new car.

He knew exactly what I meant.

He drives a classic Camaro and loves his car, too.

He told me he could maybe have the work all done by Tuesday, maybe Wednesday.

I told him to just put the due date as Thursday.

That way, if it's done earlier, that will "just be gravy."

He appreciated my patience and sense of humor.

Meanwhile...

I miss my car.