The Essence

The best things in life are free...



I just talked to Ray: $250. That's how much it's going to take to make my car run again. Driving home from work yesterday my car started acting funny on I-275. Naturally it was stop & go traffic since it was rush hour. And after about 15 minutes of driving my car started to rumble & stall out when I'd slow down or stop. It happened two or three times & always started again.



I still got in the far right lane to be on the safe. So of course, as soon as the on-ramp opens up next to me, my car completely dies. It wouldn't start at all, & instead of being able to easily move myself to the shoulder of the road I now had cars on my right entering the interstate & cars flying by me on the left (& some not too happy people lining up behind me - do people not understand what emergency lights are for?). After a few attempts to start my car I called Ray to let him know what was up.



Thankfully, I didn't sit there too long because a big semi that got on the interstate immediately pulled over, ran through the traffic, & pushed my car to the side of the road for me. Then he ran back to his truck & left.



But now parked right behind me was a DOT truck. I always wondered what those guys were for. I soon found out that it's one of the best ways I know of my tax dollars being spent. He checked under my car hood for me, made sure I had enough gas (I'd just filled up after I left work), & asked if I had AAA. I was still on the phone with Ray so I was giving him a play-by-play & he made some phone calls to family to get help towing my car (his grandmother has AAA).



The DOT guy wasn't allowed to leave a single female alone on the road. Ray & I knew it would be a little while before Ray could get to me so we had the DOT guy drive me down to a gas station (where he knew the nice owners) so I could wait for Ray there.



I felt a little funny hanging out at a gas station for 40 minutes, but you do see some interesting characters that way. The only time I think I've spent nearly that long in a gas station is when I was bringing 3 middle school girls home from camp - it's amazing how long they take inside a convenience store.



Anyway, Ray & his grandmother eventually showed up, we drove to the car, & the tow-truck showed up within 10-15 minutes & took the car to the garage we wanted. The rain, huge lighting, & thunder came shortly after we left.



So, the garage called Ray a bit ago & said my fuel pump needs replaced. :p Thankfully we've been setting aside money for awhile now in order to buy a car for me to drive. Pray we find something soon! :)