The boy’s vehicle is dead. The mechanic examined its sorry CARcass (sorry, bad pun) and the timing belt snapped.
This caused the head to crack (which is pretty much what happened to the boy and his mother when we heard the news).
To repair it would cost $2,000.
So now we are at less than zero. The boy got Monday off, to grieve LOL
Yesterday, we all got up at 3 AM to:
- Take the boy to McDonald’s for a very early morning shift.
- Drive across the state line to deliver Husband to his office.
- Drive BACK across the state line to come home.
- Drag the girl from slumber.
- Drag the semi-slumbering girl to school.
- Return home and start searching want ads and car reviews for something cheap and reliable, which I am quickly learning, is an oxymoron.
Driving Husband’s car back in the pre-dawn hours, I maintained a steady 10 and 2 grip on the steering wheel, as the weather was drizzly and the semi-trucks were like freight trains on asphalt.
Something happened to Husband’s satellite radio. I don’t know what. Maybe the automotive gremlins that destroyed the other two cars had hopped in for the ride. Just as the orange construction barrels popped up and there were lighted roadwork signs, flashing warnings of “shifting lanes ahead” (WTF?) the radio channels began jumping from one to another.
I was trapped in a universe where country music, a really filthy stand-up comic, the farm report and Martha Stewart each could be heard for about five seconds. It went something like this:
Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys with the biggest tits I’ve ever seen rolled out flat and sprinkled with soybeans, sorghum and old trucks that could suck a golf ball through a garden hose baked for one hour with doctors and lawyers and such.
I tell ya, I was hoping one of the big trucks would just kill me after a couple of minutes of that.
Yet onward I drove. And drove. Got girl to school, and came home to search newspapers and Internet for automobiles. Picked the boy up at 2 PM and drove to several car lots to entertain the salesmen with our request of a reliable car for two thousand dollars. Collected a lot of business cards, probably gave them a good coffee break topic, under the heading of, “You won’t believe what some fool asked me today!” I think one took our picture with his cell phone, probably for the Freak of the Day bulletin board.
Today I let Hubs drive himself in, as the boy has the day off. We’ve called and searched and amused loan officers hither and yon. The boy is blue. I gave him a hug and told him to go listen to some music for a while. I came to the keyboard and here we are LOL
It’s not early for a drink is it?
Posted by Marti @ 
Uggh, what a bummer. I hate buying cars. I guess everybody does. My condolences. Hey, I spelled that right on the first try! Yay me!
October 19th, 2006 at 4:06 am
Ah - the joys of car ownership. What a bummer.
He will have to think about insurance too, or else you’ll have to put it on your policy with him as a driver.
Please tell me he gets good grades!
October 19th, 2006 at 8:01 am
Remember, a car that needs repairs still can be sold for SOMETHING, all you have to do is find the right buyer (which ain’t easy). Your site looks OK, but I don’t see a sidebar. Just in case you don’t see the same thing, which has happened to me more than once!
October 19th, 2006 at 10:29 am
Yeah Marti your sidebar has slipped to the bottom of the page, usually means there is something overwidth in a post.
Commiserations on the death of the car but it was a lemon I think, better luck next time.
October 19th, 2006 at 10:52 am
I’m so sorry to hear about “the Car”! I give my condolences too! It’s a shame we have become so dependent on automobles! They do suck the life out of ya! It’s like a mortgage these days to by one new and if you get it used, it’s the luck of the drawl as you know. Insurance, gas, repairs, it is always something! You could always take hubby to a bus stop and let him experience that adventure while you drive his car. You may just get a new car (or two) a whole lot faster:-)LOL!
If I see any good deals, I’ll give you a call.
Best of luck dear,
PC
October 19th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
I’m sorry things are suckin’, Marti. But, I’ve gotta say thanks for making me giggle! You always do
October 19th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
Sorry about the car. It’s 11 years old. And it’s a Hyundai. We really can’t expect them to last longer than that. Well, look at the bright side, car shopping is fun!
October 20th, 2006 at 2:36 am
You know… I can’t imagine how you manage to keep your sense of humor through all this. I’m so sorry. Sure hope things smooth out soon.
Take care!
October 21st, 2006 at 12:59 pm
Hey Marti, my condolences on the car. This reminds me of when I was a teenager and what a challenge it was to keep all of the family’s cars running. I’m reading your book right now and really enjoying it. I hope to have a review of it up on my site in a few days.
October 21st, 2006 at 4:08 pm
I like your radio…really I do. lol
October 22nd, 2006 at 10:36 am
ha ha ha ha I LOVE your radio story. It put a smile on my face….I’m not laughing at you I’m…..aah hell, yeah, I’m laughing at you:)
Hope the boy scores a new car soon or you’ll be stuck being a full time limo driver.
October 22nd, 2006 at 11:50 am