Repairs
We began to take off, but with only three lugs attached to our tire and pulling a boat, MP knew we couldn’t make it very far. Kanab was an hour away, but Page was only 20 minutes in the other direction. Decision made. We turned around and headed to Page. J, our neighbor, began to complain and tried to convince MP to head to Kanab. But to Page it was. We found an after-hours service station and it just so happened that another car had pulled in in front of us and the mechanic was already on his way. The mechanic arrived, looked at our vehicle, and said he would need to call for a part and began fixing the other vehicle.
So we waited and watched. The mechanic was kind and showed the kids the tools and how to fix tires. It was getting late and we were getting hungry. Just as the mechanic was finishing, MP decided that we could go to a fast food place for some dinner. When we went to pay the mechanic, we only had one check left. (This is BDC—Before Debit Cards, people! The younger generation may never understand my pain here.) Let me explain: We had NO cash and now we had NO checks, and we were HUNGRY. Thinking quick, MP sent me to the convenience store to see if I could get some cash off our credit card.
Red Dots
I went into the convenience store and asked if I could get some cash. The lady at the register was a beautiful lady from India with a red dot on her forehead that I could not stop staring at. Probably because I was trying to extract anything I knew about the Indian Culture and what it all meant……see what I mean, you get side tracked! So I asked her if I could get twenty dollars. She held up her hand and said, “Five dollah.”
I said, “No, I’d like TWENTY dollars, please.”
“Five dollah.” she said again.
I was beginning to cry thinking that they were only going to let me have five dollars and I couldn’t feed all of us on that, and didn’t she know that we were in distress, and man did I look ugly, she probably thinks I’m homeless and crazy. Now what am I going to do?
She must have picked up on my pitiful facial expressions and said, “five dollah, you twenty.”
The dim light bulb in my head went off!! “Oh, you mean it will cost me five dollars to get twenty?”
“Yes.” Came the response.
Oh, what relief!! “Okay, great! Go ahead!” I said, but in my mind I was thinking that this was highway robbery and they were getting a great return on their money.
On the Road Again
With my twenty dollars in hand, we headed to KFC and got everyone some dinner. By now it was between 8:30 and 9:00 pm. It was getting dark. “At least everyone will sleep all the way home,” I thought. Off we went.
We passed by Lake Powell (again) and the little gas station past that. As a matter of fact we were just about to the spot where we had the flat tire when we heard, “THUMP, THUMP!!”
“OH NO!! What in the heck could THAT be?” we wondered. So we pulled over AGAIN!
MP gets out and checks. The tire on the boat trailer had gone flat. I’m not lying here. I couldn’t make this stuff up! Although, I did think it was sort of funny. Not MP. Not happy.
It was dark. There was no light. We had to fish the jack and the tools out again. MP had to turn the flashers on so we wouldn’t get hit in the dark, but at least he had light every few seconds when the lights blinked.
MP put the jack under the frame and began to turn. It wasn’t moving. The boat was too heavy. So MP unhitched the boat from the van to relieve any weight if possible. Then he began turning again. Nope, not budging. Then J, our teenage neighbor tried. Then MP tried again when “CRACK!” The crank broke.
I think at this point MP was muttering obscenities under his breath. I mean, now what were we going to do? We had nothing. And for some reason, there was not a car on the road. I kept asking MP if I should flag down some help. He wasn’t about to, because he’s a man and all, but me—no pride! I wasn’t afraid! So I decide that was IT! I was flagging down the next car that came by and stood in the road just so they wouldn’t miss me!! (Listen, intelligence flies out the window when one is desperate.)
With some luck and a little prayer, the next vehicle stopped and you will not believe this!! It was a MECHANIC!! With a REAL JACK!! This man and his wife were just heading home from repairing a tire for someone stranded at that little gas station 10 minutes behind us. Were we ever blessed??!!! He put that sweet jack under the boat, cranked it up, and pulled out the spare tire only to find out that it didn’t fit. Well, if you turned it the wrong way, it fit, so we took the chance. I mean, we had no other choice. Just as they finished putting the tire on, a Highway Patrolman stops. (Just in the nick of time, right?) He left and we thanked the couple profusely and hopped in the van.
MP turns the key and the battery was dead! Some things just aren’t funny at 10:30 at night. But we were feeling a little better seein’s as a mechanic is behind us. I hurried and jumped out of the van and ran back to the mechanic couple before they could leave and asked them for a jump. I really was thinking, “This is so funny and NO ONE will believe us!” I mean really—TWO flat tires and dead battery!! It seemed like the story of stories. A fish tale.
BUT, it was still a long way home. We were drowsy and tired by the time we hit Kanab. I think I had even dozed off myself. MP said that he was having a hard time staying awake, too, so we stopped in Kanab for some treats and water to keep us awake.
We took off again and were eating our snacks. We were listening to the radio, and I was thinking, “Boy, it does help to keep eating a little something and this radio show is interesting. I should be able to stay awake for a little while. MP seems to be doing good.” We were on a straight stretch of land. I could see a long way up ahead some car lights coming toward us. Off to the sides were these beautiful red hills. I was thinking how beautiful this country is even in the dark when all of a sudden, MP JERKS the van to the right and swerves to the shoulder of the road as a car was passing us.
I thought, “OH MY GOSH!! What is the matter NOW??!!” A few children even began to stir as MP yelled, “DID YOU SEE THAT TRAIN??!!”
“A…..WHAT? A TRAIN?” I look at MP. “You have REALLY lost it!! What are you talking about……a TRAIN?”
MP shakes his head. “That is so weird. I was looking at that car up ahead and was watching the lights and I fell asleep or something; and when they came close and passed us, I thought it was a train that was going to hit us.”
That’s what you get for cursing, I guess. It just messes with your mind.
We finally made it home. It was 2 a.m. MP struggled staying awake for the last 45 minutes. I did, too. He was sticking his head out the window—doing everything he could to keep himself awake. Poor guy. Now if I would have been driving, he would have been WIDE awake. He cannot sleep when someone else is at the wheel, especially me.
This was the first of many vehicle stories for us. However, we always watch for trains when we’re traveling to Lake Powell. Never seen one since that night. It was a gift. Like a UFO.