We knew it was going to happen, so I didn't drive the car if I were by myself, only if Tom was along. There's no cell coverage for half the trip into town, so I didn't attempt it when I was alone.
Tom was called at 6 this morning and asked if he'd sub at the middle school, which is less than a mile from my school. Otherwise I'd have been driving the truck and it would have happened another time.
We were about three miles from school when it started. The knocking got louder and louder and the car labored to make it up the hill. Fortunately we were at the top of the hill when the engine let loose a cloud of smoke and quit. We knew it was gone, so it wouldn't hurt to run it a little farther, would it?
It cut off three more times (once as we turned right on red without stopping) but we were able to coast into the school parking lot and got it into a safe place. It'll stay there until we sell it for parts or have it towed to the junk yard.
At least it happened at the top of a hill near the school. It could have let go on the mountain on one of the blind turns, or as we pulled out of our driveway in the middle of Dead Man's Curve.
$6000 divided by 3 years = $2000 a year. Not too shabby for a Camry that already had about 160,000 miles on it. This is not a good time to buy another car since we refinanced our WV home to pay for our place in the Keys and may be a little overborrowed right now. But we have to have something that'll allow me to go to and from work once Tom moves to Florida (probably after Thanksgiving, although we want to go down there before then for a week).
We've rented a Hyundai overnight so we can get home, get the truck, and drive the rental back in. At least that's only $45. And it's payday. All is well.
It ain't grand, but it's well. We'll survive.
Oh--please think kind thoughts toward my friend Trillian who was unexpectedly laid off this week. Her boss plans to rehire her as soon as possible, but it's a scary time for her.
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4 comments:
Betty said.....I'm sorry about the car...did Tom ever make it to the middle school this morning? I'm really glad that if it had to happen, it happened there instead of on that mountain.
You and Joan both had bad days...her giant tree fell into the driveway, taking out two cars with it (not the Camry, luckily).
Also, best wishes to Trillian.
sorry about your car. at least you made it to school in (mostly) one piece.
Thanks for the good vibes.
Of the two calamities, I think that Joan wins the prize for Biggest. Unfortunately. If she had to pay to haul that thing away, it would easily cost as much as any car that we can afford. Too bad it took out The Thing; maybe we could have used that......
Betty, Trillian is Erin on fb. She's a long-time Dave Barry friend. And yes, we did make it to school in one piece. Now we just have to clean everything out of the car and blur the id number and abandon it. I mean, have it towed away. Maybe we can find one of those "I'll pay you $150 for your junk car and even haul it away" deals.
Oh what a bummer! I hope all surprises are good from now on!
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