Exploring Disaster

We’ve been ever so faithfully working on our new house, and things take so much longer than we ever dreamed. Last weekend, we finally got our cabinets installed. We ordered them from someone in Illinois. In the hustle and bustle of everything, one lonely little bathroom vanity was forgotten about. On Monday morning, we looked everywhere for it, but it was nowhere to be found. Sara called the cabinet maker in Illinois and he was sure he had brought it down. He went out to his trailer and looked, and there it was! Here he had brought it all the way down to Kentucky but had forgotten to unload it!

Well, we had to have that vanity Tuesday so that the plumber could finish up. The cabinet maker was leaving at midnight to head for Colorado to go hunting. What choice did we have but to drive up there and haul it home ourselves? We thought this called for a Sister-Time, so Sara, Sharon, Jolene, and I all planned to go. I got off of work early and met the others at the house. We were on the road by 5:30. This is a 3 ½ hour drive. So we had a very good chance of being home by 1:30 at the latest. Sadly, this was not to be.

We were driving Martin’s Explorer. We were only 45 minutes from home when the "check engine" light came on. Groaning, we pulled over and popped the hood just in time to see the radiator juice (??) Bubble over and make a new home for itself right there in a big puddle beside the highway. What do we do now?

Luckily, we had Sara’s cell phone, but unfortunately, we had stopped in a little valley between hills where the reception is the poorest. In fact, several vehicles flying past leaves you with no service at all!

Sara called Martin first. She found out he was down in Tennessee on his way home. She could hardly hear him and had to repeat everything she said three times. She had just told him where we were when the phone went dead! There was simply nothing to do for it but recharge it. We gloomily piled back into the Explorer and waited.

Before we had left home, Mom had been fluttering around like a mother hen. And as we sat there in that ever-darkening valley, her words came back to haunt us.

"Sara, make sure you check the oil," she had said.
"Mom! It’s only an eight-hour trip!" Sara had protested.
"I don’t care; you always check the oil before you go on a trip," said our mother. Sara didn’t check the oil.
"Sharon, you make sure you take your cell phone along too," said Mom.
"Mom!! We have Sara’s cell phone, and besides, mine needs to stay here and recharge," protested Sharon. Sharon didn’t take her cell phone.
"Fasten your seat belts," called our mother as we left home. We did fasten our seat belts!!

And so... We all conclusively decided that God’s judgment is indeed swift and sure and that He was trying to teach us to heed our Mother’s advice a little better. Alright! The lesson was learned. Can we go now? Sigh.

And thus began a series of attempted calls from the confines of the vehicle. We had to stay inside the Explorer because the phone now had to stay attached to its cord. The only place we could get any reception was when Sharon laid her head up on top of the dash--- not exactly the most comfortable position to make calls from. The hardest part of it all was the waiting! We finally got through to Mom, and she and Martin began a Plan of Action.

Jolene had read too many stories of vehicles parked alongside the road getting hit by another vehicle going astray, so she was keeping a lookout through the back window. Then she started threatening to get out and walk alongside the road.... that is, until we reminded her of the decomposed body someone had found alongside the interstate just the other week. She stayed put.

Thirty minutes later, the highway patrol pulled up behind us, lights flashing. We told him we had help on the way, and no, it was not necessary for him to sit with us until our help came. He went on his way, and we waited some more.

After a while, another man stopped and offered to help. We thanked him profusely and sent him on his way as well. And we waited some more. We were getting cold but didn’t dare run the Explorer for fear of wearing the battery down. We amused ourselves with idle chit chat and calling Mom every now and then to see what progress was being made.

We also had AAA, a company you can call when your vehicle breaks down and they’ll come and tow your vehicle for free. So when Martin was finally on his way, we called them to our aid as well. And we waited some more!! All at once we were being spot-lighted by a car in the oncoming lane. The light was so bright we were all cowering and shielding our eyes.

We watched the car go on by and then it made a U-turn right through the median. Oh no. Here we go again.....the highway patrol! And then... Praise the Lord! We saw the lights of a wrecker top the hill. Could this be our wrecker? Orange and blue lights reached us simultaneously. The only thing we lacked was.... Martin. We didn’t really want to be left sitting on the guard rail. Sara hopped out to talk to the officer and wrecker man, who were already deciding our fate. The policeman was planning to take us halfway in his car then relay us to another policeman who would take us on home. When they let her get a word in, Sara told them we already had a ride coming. Bummer! We missed an exciting ride!

Martin arrived soon after. He brought his truck with two seats in it. He caught a ride back with the wrecker man, and we took his truck on up to Illinois to get the vanity. No more problems, right? Wrong. Sara couldn’t find the brake release and accidentally popped the hood instead. We all groaned, but finally....finally... we were on our way again. We were now in excess of two hours behind schedule. Thus, we began one of the most miserable trips ever!! We fought sleep most of the way even as we drove through rain and very cold weather. We arrived back home at 4:00 a.m. We were SO glad to get home. The only problem was I had to be at work by 7:00. That was the true test of a joyful heart, let me tell you!

But sadly, that was not the end of it. On Thursday, I went to an auction at an old high school and bought all manner of big, bulky items such as tables filing cabinets, and bookcases. I had taken my dad’s truck, but I had more than a truckload. So on Friday morning, Sara drove the Explorer (it had been fixed), and I drove the truck again. We were loaded up and on our way home. Sara was following me so that she could keep an eye on my load. Jolene was riding with me, and she all of a sudden realized Sara was no longer behind us. We pulled over and waited.... and waited. No Sara. So we turned around and went back. About a mile back up the road, there was Sara standing by the Explorer, hood up. Oh no! Not again! Apparently, it hadn’t been fixed!
Luckily, we had the truck right there this time. We all piled into the truck and abandoned the Explorer. And we said, NEVER again!! Martin came and took care of it later on that night.