I had much to do on Thursday. Since Mom's burglary her banking has been up in the air so I needed to help her with that. I needed to mow, help her clean, and take her shopping. I also needed to pick up some cakes for her and get them delivered. In anticipation of the big day I woke up extra early and left Randleman around 6 am for the 2 hour drive to Hickory.
I always hate driving through the road construction in Statesville. If you haven't been there, I--77 and I-40 intersect there and I-40 is being widened to at least six lanes through Statesville so one has to maneuver around orange barrels and weird traffic flows. The speed limit drops from seventy to fifty-five so when I got to that point I cut off my cruise control and just let my van slow itself down. When it got to 55 I was just about to give it a little gas when the engine revved and the speedometer zoomed up to seventy and then just as quickly settled back down. I thought it strange but not so worrisome. After sneaking my way through the construction, traffic had thinned out and it was again safe to drive with cruise control except my had quick working. At least that explains the sudden jump in speed or so I thought.
Everything was fine until I pulled off the interstate in Hickory. At the first intersection I had to stop and when I did my engine stalled. The van quickly restarted and I thought everything was again okay until I stopped the second time. The engine stalled again. I knew then something was wrong and I needed to get it checked out. I thought maybe an hour or two and a couple hundred dollars and I'd be back on my way but I got no where near a garage. The third time my van died I was moving forward and not stopped. Fortunately I managed to pull it off the highway into a parking lot of a business that was not yet opened. It was 7:55.
I called my auto club and a wrecker was dispatched. I didn't arrived until 9:10 and it was so dilapidated I wasn't sure if it could pick up my van or not but it finally did. I didn't get to the garage until 9:30 but the technician who could diagnose the problem didn't come to work until 10 and I was told it would be an hour to run the diagnostic. After making all the appropriate phone calls and waiting patiently I walked up the street at 11:00 to have a bite to eat. Around 12:30 the garage told me I had to have the van towed to the dealership because the computer system had blown out. The same tow truck showed up and it took longer the second time to pick the van up than it did the first. After another 1 mile two my van was dropped at the dealership around 1:30.
I had called my wife to come to Hickory. She could at least help me with Mom as it was way too late for me to get much done by myself. While waiting for her I decided to dump the van as it was now a piece of junk (it was a 2004 but only had 76,000 miles on it) due to the cost of the repairs. The dealership generously allowed me $500.00 for it. I picked out a 2014 Optima and it was 3 o'clock by the time all the paperwork was done except for running my credit and signing with the financial officer. My wife showed up at the very moment I needed her input but by the time everything was done it was 5.
We hurried to Mom's, took her to purchase groceries and put everything away for her. After a short prayer Debbie and I hit the road. stopping only at Burger King for a well deserved meal. It was 8:57 pm when I got back home; just enough time for a bathroom break before out 9 o'clock prayer.
Bad stuff happens to good people so my troubles for the day was taken it stride. I was very thankful that the van didn't leave me stranded in Statesville. When the tow truck came to take me to the first garage I had the thought that it needed to be towed to the dealership but in the heat of the day and the waiting for the wrecker to work the thought slipped my mind. Sometimes even the most dedicated Christian misses the voice of God giving us instructions. I wished I had listened but I do give God thanks for keeping me safe.
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