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fullygoldy) wrote2005-08-12 10:49 am
Goldy's Amazing Adventure on the Beltline
AKA: The Car Saga, Volume 3
So all day yesterday, I was looking forward to DH coming home from work, because I was finally going to get out of the house in a meaningful way. Because driving the girl to and from practice, and running into Bill's for milk and beer doesn't really count. I took a shower, and painted my toenails a really cool purple, and put on my light green skirt with the teal/blue/lime floral print, a lime camisole, and a white cotton blouse. I had on my dangly, sparkly green earrings and my beaded flipflops too. DH was quite appreciative of the outfit. :)
I left in 'Betty the Beater' of the swiss-cheese radiator fame, a little before 4 to do an errand and then go to the mall, where I had my bday necklace inspected & cleaned. Then I decided to treat myself to a browse through JC Penney, to see if they had anything cute I could wear to the dance at the poly-con. Lots of new sparkly stuff and a 70% off end of season clearance to sift through. I even checked out lingerie and shoes. I found the cutest pair of green pumps for a ridiculously cheap price and they went perfectly with my outfit, except for one thing: Goldy does not wear 4.5 inch heels. Just one inch shorter and they would have been mine, all mine! I decided not to buy anything though, because almost everything I liked was green, and I wore green last year. Finally, I decided it was time to go home and finish making dinner (carnitas for taquitos had been in the crock pot all day). I left the mall at 5:27.
I was just a bit more than 2 exits away from home, in the middle lane of the beltline, when I heard a funny 'flapping' noise. I glanced all around me, but didn't see what could be causing it. But the noise got louder. Just before Todd Dr. I realize ITS MY TIRE! My freaking tire disintigrated while I was going 55 mph! I pull over to the shoulder, in an almost horizontal manuever (the Dukes have nothing on me) and stop just at the beginning of the offramp, because I just know that I'm driving on the rim. Dig out the phone (which I almost didn't take with) and call home. DH says, "how do you get in touch with that guy in the truck?" By this he means, the Sheriff's truck that assists broken-down motorists on the beltline. "Hell, if I know, oh hey, look, someone is pulling over in front of me. They're backing towards me. It's a black Mercedes, 300 sel. Huh. The tag says 'DEMONIC'. And hey, a guy's getting out..." "Hon, just crack the window to talk to him." I start rolling my window up to a crack. A very pleasant-looking asian man asks "are you alright?" "I am, but apparently, my tire is not." He looks back at it and says, "Yeah, Not. Do you have a spare?" I tell DH I'm getting out of the car, and open the trunk. I've got no idea if Betty's got a spare. Yay, Betty! Yay, Pete! There's a temp. tire, and a jack and a lug wrench. I tell DH I'll call him back when we're done. Just as we've pulled everything out of the trunk, the Sheriff's truck pulls up and blocks traffic enough to protect us from early exiters. Yay, Sheriff!
Deputy Brent jumps out and says, "I have a better jack." So he gets to work and changes the tire. The temp tire is low on air, but the truck has all the coolest toys, including a fitting on the front grille that D.B. attached an air hose to, and voila! pressure! He's got a major winch on that thing too. All this time, D.B. is giving a running commentary on what to expect while driving on this tire, safety tips, and all that. It didn't hurt that he was so cute and earnest too. (Afterward, DH & I agreed that this would be PL's dream job.) Demonic Andrew helped out by holding lug nuts and tools. I tried to help put stuff back in the trunk, but D.B. wouldn't have it. "You'll get dirty." After thanking everyone profusely, I get back in the car and check the time: 5:49! Can you believe it?! The whole "ordeal" lasted maybe 12 minutes! FOFL
ETA:
This is what I would have added to this post today, if I had posted it last night when I wanted to:
The plan this morning was to take DH to work, come home, take the girl to practice, go to the tire place, get the tire replaced, and pick up DH after work. However, upon walking out to the car, I notice something dripping from under the passenger floorboard. "Is that condensation?" "I think so, I don't know what else would be dripping from there." "OK."
Get the girl in the car later, and in front of the neighbor's house, she starts squealing, "Mom!" I look over and green liquid is pouring out from under the dashboard. Slam on the brakes. Hop out and check the coolant reservoir - it's dry as a bone. "Okie Dokie, then." Park Betty, jump in the Rodeo, drop the girl, call PL. "Why would there been coolant pouring out from the dashboard?" "Oh, no. Heater core is gone. But I can bypass that." Greatness. So I took the tire up to the shop and had them give me a new used one, and brought it home. PL will come after work to bypass heater and change tire. And shoelessdoc will pick up DH from work. Thanks, sweetie! ~sigh~
How did we earn such bad CAR-ma?
I didn't know you had an LJ
If you can't figure out who I am by my profile I'll give you a hint...
Do you still want help with that little wiring job downstairs? I've almost got my house done and after next Sunday (my open house) I'm going to be freer than I've ever been to do stuff.
I hope you have better luck with cars. I've been very luck with my old beater. It still goes fine although I need to get my tire re-repaired as it is leaking air again. Other than that all is well.
Re: I didn't know you had an LJ
And yes, I'd still love for you to look at my wiring job. Since I'm not currently working, I'm here alot, so let me know when it would be convenient. Good luck selling the house too!