Despite planning, you never really know how a day will unfold...
Yesterday, as usual I awoke, read the paper, responded to e-mails, and listened to the news while eating breakfast. It was going to be a full day! I left for a tennis round robin cancer-support fund-raiser, to discover lots of participants, no parking left in the adjacent lot, and over an hour delay in beginning. Since it started late, I left before its luncheon because I had so much to do...
My first stop was blocks away (I should have walked!), and after stopping, and going in, when I left, my 2-year old "car of the year" wouldn't start. Thinking it was the battery (even though it had recently been replaced!), I tried to see if anyone around had jumper cables to get it started so that I could take it to the dealership, two miles down the road. I then called the dealership to see if they could send someone down, but they were preparing to close (early Saturday hours), so they had no one to spare, and told me they'd check it if I could get it towed there in 30 minutes. They reminded of the car's 5-year free road service towing, and I called..."We can have someone there in 40 minutes"...too late, but at least I could have the car taken there for a Monday check. Meanwhile, conveniently I noticed a car rental agency two doors away...it was preparing to close...but they had a car...$70 plus fees til Monday...instead I decided to call Mom to borrow her car later.
After fifty minutes, two men pulled up in a blazer. They asked for my driver's license for identification, and then attempted to "jump start" the battery to no avail, told me to call back to the road "service" to get a tow truck, and left. "It will take 90 more minutes for the tow truck to arrive"...After 2 hours with no arrival (and nearly giving up on the dealer's service), I called another club membership road service out and requested a tow truck again. From them, another mechanic arrived that once again tried to jump the battery and after also failing, said the starter must be defective, and that the vehicle would have to be towed! I called back to the first group that informed that their requested truck was running behind and would arrive in yet another forty minutes! With each periodic automated calls would come to question if I still wanted "service"...but then my new cell phone battery ( I had three new cell phones in the last few months in an attempt to get one with a battery that would hold a charge!) was dying! So as it had been determined that the car battery was still working, I sat in the hot car with the phone plugged into the car receptacle. Then, I realized that my driver's license was missing! The first mechanics left with it! I was able to track down the guys who didn't remember taking it, so it was gone, so I had no license for the weekend, while possible my identity was being stolen, and nothing could be done until Monday! I called the County police to report the theft, and they informed that after 911 they no longer were dealing with stolen licenses!
After 6 hours the tow truck arrived! I asked why they had taken so long and they said that they had been sent about an hour north for another car, and that they were "slammed" with cars that needed towing!"..."For $100 we can take your car down to the lake, dump it in, and give you a form for insurance to get a new one, Bud!" They loaded the car and took it the two miles to the closed dealership. The key deposit box had no pen to fill in my information...
A friend picked me up and drove me to get Mom's car to use for the rest of the weekend. I drove home, parked out front (I had the garage door opener in the other car), plugged in the phone to continue charging it, showered, had a quick salad, and as the day of chores had been a "wash", I decided to go the outdoor "Italian Fest" concert. As soon as I opened the front door, it started to POUR, and my umbrellas were in the other car too! So that idea was literally "washed out" and was not going to happen! After the rain slowed, I decided to try to salvage the day with some chores! I left to fill Mom's car with gas and the pump was broken. I went to the grocery store, and got food for the week. I drove home to a dark house...the exterior bulbs had burned out! I got out and dropped the dozen eggs on the concrete! I went inside to get replacement bulbs and when I unscrewed the fixture lenses, I broke the plastic fixture covers! I went inside and started to boil some water with spaghetti, and the pot "boiled over"!
Then I REALLY gave up..."best laid plans can't always occur when fate has alternatives!"
Yesterday, as usual I awoke, read the paper, responded to e-mails, and listened to the news while eating breakfast. It was going to be a full day! I left for a tennis round robin cancer-support fund-raiser, to discover lots of participants, no parking left in the adjacent lot, and over an hour delay in beginning. Since it started late, I left before its luncheon because I had so much to do...
My first stop was blocks away (I should have walked!), and after stopping, and going in, when I left, my 2-year old "car of the year" wouldn't start. Thinking it was the battery (even though it had recently been replaced!), I tried to see if anyone around had jumper cables to get it started so that I could take it to the dealership, two miles down the road. I then called the dealership to see if they could send someone down, but they were preparing to close (early Saturday hours), so they had no one to spare, and told me they'd check it if I could get it towed there in 30 minutes. They reminded of the car's 5-year free road service towing, and I called..."We can have someone there in 40 minutes"...too late, but at least I could have the car taken there for a Monday check. Meanwhile, conveniently I noticed a car rental agency two doors away...it was preparing to close...but they had a car...$70 plus fees til Monday...instead I decided to call Mom to borrow her car later.
After fifty minutes, two men pulled up in a blazer. They asked for my driver's license for identification, and then attempted to "jump start" the battery to no avail, told me to call back to the road "service" to get a tow truck, and left. "It will take 90 more minutes for the tow truck to arrive"...After 2 hours with no arrival (and nearly giving up on the dealer's service), I called another club membership road service out and requested a tow truck again. From them, another mechanic arrived that once again tried to jump the battery and after also failing, said the starter must be defective, and that the vehicle would have to be towed! I called back to the first group that informed that their requested truck was running behind and would arrive in yet another forty minutes! With each periodic automated calls would come to question if I still wanted "service"...but then my new cell phone battery ( I had three new cell phones in the last few months in an attempt to get one with a battery that would hold a charge!) was dying! So as it had been determined that the car battery was still working, I sat in the hot car with the phone plugged into the car receptacle. Then, I realized that my driver's license was missing! The first mechanics left with it! I was able to track down the guys who didn't remember taking it, so it was gone, so I had no license for the weekend, while possible my identity was being stolen, and nothing could be done until Monday! I called the County police to report the theft, and they informed that after 911 they no longer were dealing with stolen licenses!
After 6 hours the tow truck arrived! I asked why they had taken so long and they said that they had been sent about an hour north for another car, and that they were "slammed" with cars that needed towing!"..."For $100 we can take your car down to the lake, dump it in, and give you a form for insurance to get a new one, Bud!" They loaded the car and took it the two miles to the closed dealership. The key deposit box had no pen to fill in my information...
A friend picked me up and drove me to get Mom's car to use for the rest of the weekend. I drove home, parked out front (I had the garage door opener in the other car), plugged in the phone to continue charging it, showered, had a quick salad, and as the day of chores had been a "wash", I decided to go the outdoor "Italian Fest" concert. As soon as I opened the front door, it started to POUR, and my umbrellas were in the other car too! So that idea was literally "washed out" and was not going to happen! After the rain slowed, I decided to try to salvage the day with some chores! I left to fill Mom's car with gas and the pump was broken. I went to the grocery store, and got food for the week. I drove home to a dark house...the exterior bulbs had burned out! I got out and dropped the dozen eggs on the concrete! I went inside to get replacement bulbs and when I unscrewed the fixture lenses, I broke the plastic fixture covers! I went inside and started to boil some water with spaghetti, and the pot "boiled over"!
Then I REALLY gave up..."best laid plans can't always occur when fate has alternatives!"
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