A comedy of bad luck

So, last week my car got a new head gasket (among other things) and this week, full of excitement we drove it to Battle Mountain. I was feeling great about my vehicle and grateful that I found an honest mechanic and all was right in the world of Toyota Matrix. It is paid off and I anticipated 5 more years of use. Our plan was to get a bigger car when we needed more room for car seats and then convert my little Matrix into Brian's travel-back-and-forth-every-other-weekend-car. Alas, our plans have been thwarted... at least for the time being. For entertainment purposes only, here is a rundown of our weekend adventures: My car was running smoothly and I was confident it had been fixed and would live to see so many more adventures in my life. Then, I made the very grave mistake of jinxing us and my beloved vehicle. What blasphemy did I utter? You might ask. Well, I smartly commented to Brian, "This is a great time to try out this car to make sure it works. Ali is coming right behind us and this is a much shorter distance than our honeymoon we are going on next week." Roughly 20 miles later and about 30 minutes short of Battle Mountain, my oil light came on, a high pitched squeak came from the motor and a rattling/knocking sound that I simply cannot describe overcame my car like a ghost pouncing in the darkness. Panicked, I pulled over on the side of the freeway and Brian got out to see what might be wrong. Nothing. Yeah right. So, we pulled back on the freeway where we proceeded roughly .06 mile and then returned to the shoulder of the road and, conceding defeat, turned on the hazards. I called Ali and Brian called Eric. About 20 minutes later Ali picked Xiana and I up off the side of the road where we left Brian to wait for Eric and the trailer to pick up the car. I jokingly dramatized a desperate plea to "remember that I love you if this is the last time I see you" to Brian before we pulled away. The time was 4:45. A few minutes later we saw Eric with the trailer pass us. Phew, he will only be a few minutes behind us... or so we thought. About 20 minutes later I get a call from Brian asking where my owner's manual is. Well, I don't have an owner's manual. I never have. This is something of a problem because I made sure that I wasn't ever going to get stuck in the snow by buying an all wheel drive vehicle and it might be a problem to put my car on a Dolly with two wheels hanging off the back. "Let me get back to you on that." So, I called Toyota where the helpful serviceman instantly assured me that, "of course all four wheels must be off the ground. There is no other way." At which time, relenting, I called to be the bearer of bad news. Brian indicated that they would head back into town, pick up another trailer and go pick up the car. Well, unfortunately it was not quite so seamless as we might have anticipated and it was a bit of a struggle to find somebody who was available with a trailer. Fortunately, there was a friend of a friend who, not only had a trailer, but had it hooked up right that moment. Never mind that he also had his whole FAMILY in his rig. It was only going to take an hour right? Meanwhile, Kevin and Eric were exclaiming an additional jinx since they didn't find my original statement had done sufficient damage. Brian told them, "make sure you bring water." Their reply? " We don't need water. It's only going to take an hour." Well, this good Samaritan drove out, put the car on the trailer and then..... BAM... a few miles down the road got a flat tire. They pulled onto the side of the freeway again. This time car, truck, and trailer. So, Eric and Kevin came back into town again on a new hunt. This time they were in the spare tire business. They utilized ALL their resources, attempted to rig tires, borrow tires, create tires, but try as they might, they could not locate a spare for this rig. Hopeful that they might be able to pump the spare back up and seal it, they headed out to the stranded hopefuls again until.... a few miles out... BAM... they got a flat tire too. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, it was 10:00 pm. The kids had not eaten. The grill was out of propane. And we were all anxiously biting our nails with concern for the boys. So, they left the trailer and car on the side of the freeway and came home. When Brian walked in I anticipated a frustrated and weary husband. Much to my surprise and pleasure, he was a trooper. He had been stuck on the side of the road for 6 hours but remained calm and in good spirits. My heart leapt when I saw him. I know I know. Stupid right? We were only apart for a few hours, but I am just so grateful that he handles problems and major inconveniences so well. At one point I said, "I feel like crying." And he replied, "Why? It's only a car." And he's right. It is only a car. And like my dad said, "There are many sorrows in this world. The least of these are financial." It's true. What's a car in the scheme of things? So, about 11 the good Samaritan called saying that he didn't feel comfortable leaving things on the side of the road. My sweet husband left again, helped him slowly drive the trailer to an exit with the flat spare, and returned home at 12:30 am. The following morning he met the man at the tire store, purchased his tire and then retrieved my car leaving it at Eric's. Next weekend he will have to go get it and bring it back to Reno where we will decide what to do with it. Nevertheless, we had a WONDERFUL weekend which I will post about later in this week after I finish grading papers for summer term. I am grateful for the help of his family, strangers, and mostly, for Brian himself. What could have been an extraordinarily tense and discouraging experience instead was unpleasant at worst, comedic at best.