Today my car died. I had just left work, headed for my cell group (which I had been looking forward to all week) when my car suddenly started making the most horrible noises. I pulled off the side of the interstate immediately, got out, and checked my tires. Surprisingly, they were fine – I thought I had a blowout. So I got back into my car and started it up again, and heard the noise again. This time I realized the loud “CHUGGA-CHUGGA” sound occurred in time with the engine turning over.
I turned the engine off and considered my options, as the wind from passing semis rocked my car back and forth. I didn’t have a cell phone. I could just sit here and hope that a police car would stop, or I could get out and walk the mile or two to a pay phone to call for help, or I could try to see if my car would hold together for the next mile or two until I could drive to a gas station or something. I decided to wait a little bit and see if a police car would stop. About two minutes later, I lost my patience waiting. None of my options were good; all of them involved danger. If I tried driving, my car might get worse and burn the engine out beyond repair. If I tried walking, I could get hit by a car or mugged or something. In the end, impatience won out and I started the car again. There was a sign just ahead of me that said the next exit was ¾ of a mile, so I decided to try for it. I put on my hazard lights and pulled out into traffic, my engine protesting in the most nerve-rattling noises imaginable.
The car held together for that next mile or two until I could pull into a Shell station and use the pay phone. I called my parents, but my dad couldn’t diagnose my problem with my vague descriptions, so I just called Dann to come pick me up. The attendant at the Shell station said it was okay to leave my car here overnight, as long as I took care of it in the morning.
So, I didn’t get to visit my cell group; I just sat at home and played Starcraft with Dann. Tomorrow I’m going to try to get my car looked at and find out what exactly went wrong. After having sunk nearly $700 into it last month, I really hope it’s something that can be fixed relatively easily (and cheaply). I just feel kind of numb. Whatever kind of bad it is, it’s already happened. I’m just waiting to find out how bad the bad is. Right now, my main thought is that a cell phone (much as I loathe them) would have come in really handy tonight. Maybe I should think about getting one for emergencies like this. I could turn my ringer off permanently, and use it solely for dialing out.
I turned the engine off and considered my options, as the wind from passing semis rocked my car back and forth. I didn’t have a cell phone. I could just sit here and hope that a police car would stop, or I could get out and walk the mile or two to a pay phone to call for help, or I could try to see if my car would hold together for the next mile or two until I could drive to a gas station or something. I decided to wait a little bit and see if a police car would stop. About two minutes later, I lost my patience waiting. None of my options were good; all of them involved danger. If I tried driving, my car might get worse and burn the engine out beyond repair. If I tried walking, I could get hit by a car or mugged or something. In the end, impatience won out and I started the car again. There was a sign just ahead of me that said the next exit was ¾ of a mile, so I decided to try for it. I put on my hazard lights and pulled out into traffic, my engine protesting in the most nerve-rattling noises imaginable.
The car held together for that next mile or two until I could pull into a Shell station and use the pay phone. I called my parents, but my dad couldn’t diagnose my problem with my vague descriptions, so I just called Dann to come pick me up. The attendant at the Shell station said it was okay to leave my car here overnight, as long as I took care of it in the morning.
So, I didn’t get to visit my cell group; I just sat at home and played Starcraft with Dann. Tomorrow I’m going to try to get my car looked at and find out what exactly went wrong. After having sunk nearly $700 into it last month, I really hope it’s something that can be fixed relatively easily (and cheaply). I just feel kind of numb. Whatever kind of bad it is, it’s already happened. I’m just waiting to find out how bad the bad is. Right now, my main thought is that a cell phone (much as I loathe them) would have come in really handy tonight. Maybe I should think about getting one for emergencies like this. I could turn my ringer off permanently, and use it solely for dialing out.
posted by Mark at 2/12/2004 10:30:00 PM
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