Monday, November 8, 2010
Roadside Assistance
Whichever day you want to give it to, it was 3am.
I was five miles from home, traveling back from spending a fun-filled evening with The Nephew when it happened.
Something wasn't right. The sudden racket coming from the front end of my car made me groan. I turned down the radio--
(George Noory was in the middle of a FASCINATING conversation with some guy who claims to have removed alien tracking devices from the cheeks of human "abductees." I listen to weird stuff in the middle of the night. Because I'm
--and glanced around to see if some big rig was pulling up beside me and causing the terrible racket. No such luck.
My car has been on a slow and steady pace toward death for some time now. For months I have anticipated that she would one day leave me stranded on the side of the road, smoke pouring dramatically from beneath the hood. In some of my imaginings, there are even flames. So many different things are going wrong with my car, anything could eventually render it deceased.
A blown out tire was the last thing I expected.
I pulled the car to the side of the road, finding a particularly wide patch of emergency lane that seems to have been designed with disabled vehicles in mind. The tire was, indeed, very, very flat and I thought of that beautiful, full-size spare sitting at attention in the trunk. The spare that, inexplicably, did not include a jack and was, therefore, absolutely useless to me. And so I pulled out my phone and stared at it.
First, I called David, my roommate, who used to be up until all hours. There was a time when it was not unusual for him to be going to bed just as I was leaving for work.
When David didn't answer, I tried my brother, Marc.
I hated the idea of disturbing David and Katie at such a ridiculous hour, and I especially didn't want my poor brother to feel like he had to drive all the way down to Orange County to rescue his older sister who had been too (cheap? lazy? stupid?) to sign up for Triple A.
When Marc didn't answer, I tried David one more time and then wondered if I had opted for roadside assistance when I renewed my auto insurance policy. I'd been meaning to, and it was cheap, but I couldn't remember if I'd actually done it.
I opened the center console where the insurance paperwork sleeps, and fought back tears despite trying to convince myself that I should be in full-blown panic mode which, for some reason, I wasn't AT ALL. I was the picture of calm as cars zipped by on the freeway. No one slowed to see if a stranded driver needed assistance. Who could blame them, though? I wouldn't have stopped. I saw that movie.
It was in the midst of searching for paperwork that it hit me.
I am all alone.
Here it was, 3:00 in the morning, and I had no one to turn to. If I hated calling my own roommates and my brother, there was no way I felt right about calling any of the other 200 numbers in my contact list. I have friends, of course. I have people that care about me and would drop what they're doing if I need them. But at 3am, I was at a loss. There was no one else I was even going to attempt to disturb.
I was alone.
Just as I was starting to consider a very serious conversation with God about how this was His fault instead of mine--
(You know, since He hasn't seen fit to make sure there was a husband pacing the floors at home anxiously awaiting my return and making sure my tires were properly inflated in the first place, and because He couldn't just wait five more miles until I was in the safety of my own parking lot...)
--He sent an angel in the form of a kind tow truck driver who asked if help was on the way and then offered to change the tire for me.
"How long have you been waiting?" he asked, making conversation.
I looked at the clock on the dashboard, knowing it had been awhile.
Four minutes.
That seemed impossible, but it was true.
He changed the tire, refused any sort of compensation and I was home twenty minutes later.
But I just kept thinking about all those numbers I didn't call. All those people I didn't reach out to in my...minutes...of need. And then I got to wondering how many people know that they could call ME if they were in a similar situation. I hope it's all of them. Because, as Katie and I were discussing yesterday morning, the fact is that it's much more satisfying to come to someone's rescue in the middle of the night than to get a good night's sleep and wake up to discover they were stranded.
So if you're my friend and you have my number and you need help any time of the day or night, you can call me.
But, not if you need a jack. I don't have one.
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How scary! He was probably one of the Three Nephites. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, God's answer sure came quick.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I feel the same way as you. I'm a single mom of 4 (2 of whom are still home). I have no family that lives in this state. I have friends, and one that I know I could call at 3am, but that's really it. What a harsh reality that I hadn't thought of for a while.
I'm so thankful that tow truck guy stopped to help! What a blessing he didn't charge you! Did you ever sign up for AAA? =)
~Mimi from SITS
Wow, a nice tow truck driver? Must of been a God-send! ha. Glad you were able to get back out on your way.
ReplyDelete-molly from SITS
I had a (somewhat) similar situation. Car broke down (thankfully around 3 pm). Called sis first because I was headed to her place. No answer. Couldn't call mom, dad, or several others for various reasons. I finally called idiot brother. He arrived 1 1/2 hours later and, as he was waiting at a light to make a U-turn, he rolled down his window and yelled, "How much?" I flipped that jack@$$ off. lol!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I used to have a "I don't answer the phone after midnight" rule then thought 'how good of a friend does that make me?' I e-mailed all my friends and told them that anytime they needed (to talk to) me, etc. I'd be available.
I've been there, except I was in the middle of no where Kentucky with a jam packed car of crap (because I was moving back to Ohio!) I had a tired underneath all of my clothes, books and other super important things. Luckily an angel with the name of Wayne helped me, then a guy named Mike? and then a woman who's three year old son thought my name was Deb. I'm glad that the truck driver didn't see THAT movie but honestly, how much did you freak out when he stopped to help? And please don't ever hesitate to call if you are in serious need or stranded with a flat tire in Wooster. I like my sleep but I like my friends better!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're ok and glad that someone stopped to help. I had a similar thing happen back in high school ... I was in an accident and a policeman happened to basically right there. He tied my bumper back on and away we went. I only freaked out when I got home and had to admit to my parents that I'd pretty much totaled the car.
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty awesome story. It's nuts how such a small amount of time can seem like hours when you're stranded. I'm glad that you got back okay though; that tow truck guy deserves a big thank you cake or something, hehe.
ReplyDeleteIt's almost like God is looking out for you! Also, my faith in mankind has been restored (I love it when people help each other out!)
ReplyDeleteI know it's absolutely no consulation but...
ReplyDeletere: "He hasn't seen fit to make sure there was a husband pacing the floors at home anxiously awaiting my return and making sure my tires were properly inflated in the first place"
Chances are that if you had a husband, he would have
a) slept through the phone ringing
b) been out partying and not heard his cell phone
c) any number of other things that real husbands do in these situations, leading you to ask yourself why you got married in the first place.
AAA doesn't keep you warm at night but cats do.
AAA doesn't satisfy your lady needs but lady toys do.
AAA answers when you call and doesn't make you feel guilty when you ask them to pick you up.
Scary! I'm glad it turned out okay. What a nice man that helped you. All I can say is, PAY IT FORWARD!
ReplyDeleteI had a flat tire once and HAD a jack, but for some reason the jack was bolted down to the trunk, and I had no wrench to extricate the jack from the car. I so wanted to be able to do it on my own, but I had to call a friend for help, and he GLOATED about coming to my rescue. So I went ahead and married the guy.
ReplyDeleteWas the tow truck driver cute and single?
I've been stranded on the side of the road. It sucks. I'm glad that you weren't there too long. I'm right with you, I'm not sure how many people I would be willing to disturb in the middle of the night.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite posts of yours. :)
ReplyDeleteI have been in that exact same spot, and it was heart breaking for me to realize that there was no one I could turn to in a moment of need.
ReplyDeleteYou could have called me! I wouldn't have driven all the that way, but I would have chatted with you until real help arrived!
I was in a similar situation years ago, and it was terrifying! I'm so glad you were able to get help!
ReplyDeleteAnd I seriously love the message here!
Glad a Good Samaritan came to your rescue. I would have felt EXACTLY like you did about contacting someone for help. And I love the wisdom in the words of your friend. She is right. I would much rather go to the aid of a friend than to learn that they were stranded and worried about calling me. A valuable lesson. So, have you joined AAA or your insurance company's road side assistance plan yet? I highly recommend it!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I hadn't even read your stranded post when I posted mine! Thankfully mine was in the daytime, and I did have roadside assistance on my insurance.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I hadn't even read your stranded post when I posted mine! Thankfully mine was in the daytime, and I did have roadside assistance on my insurance.
ReplyDeleteI believe I HAVE been someone to call you in the middle of the night! Don't you just love good samaritans? Makes me love the world again. :)
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at The Lady's Lounge because I've been stuck in the car WITH my husband and had to call AAA before....in a snowstorm at the edge of the Nebraska border and we had to wait 8 hours for them to get there. LOL I get the point you were making because I know how you felt but what she said about a husband not being able to help anyway sure did make me laugh cause mine didn't. LOL
ReplyDeleteThat is a sinking feeling to be sure. At least it was only a tire this time and not the continued downward spiral toward death. That's a bonus.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this Karen... i agree with you... seriously there has to be a husband pacing anxiously... God has to play fair. But i guess He was sending you help. Bless his heart.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
I feel the same way as you. I have 2 kids, and my husband is working late nights right now, plus a job during the day right now (as his business closes for the winter) so it's just me. I'm always worried that something will break and we will be stranded, but 3 am is definitely scary. Sorry for the run-on sentence, haha. I love your closing comment though.
ReplyDeleteCan I call you if I need jumper cables? I have a jack but I don't have cables. ;)
So glad you were able to get help! It's amazing how we don't appreciate a functioning car until you don't have it!
ReplyDeletelucky for you that tow truck came by!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have purchased a jack. :)
Visiting From Red Dress Club
I can relate to this on so many levels. I too, am single with no kids. I live alone. I live in OAKLAND. You don't want to be stranded in Oakland!
ReplyDeleteI have had my car break down many times- one time my tire popped while i was going 60 miles an hour on the freeway in the middle of day. I started spinning and praying to Jesus. Then my car died in the middle of the lanes. No one touched me! Someone came and moved my car off the freeway, put my spare on and police officer came just as I was leaving....
LOVE THIS POST. And i gotta confess- lady lounge's response. and i have never been married.
I would say that you could have called me, but 1.) You don't have my number and 2.) I'm kind of on the other side of the country. :-)
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, if you DID have my number and I was within a reasonable distance, I totally would have come and got you at 3 a.m. So if any of my friends are reading this, now you know.