Simple America

I title this with a one in anticipation of posting more.

Well I have not gone to work at all this week.

I missed Monday and Tuesday because of my van’s brakes. I turned on my car and the brakes light came on. So I looked at the brake fluid and it looked good. I added a bit just for the heck of it. Turn on the car and the light was gone. I’m thinking I ducked a bullet. First time I hit the brakes the light comes back on. Great. I just had the brakes worked on earlier in the year. So I dropped my kids and went to the mechanic. Closed on Monday. Shit. Well I’m not driving any more on bad brakes than I have to. I went home and parked. No way to get to work. Decided to pick the kids up early to avoid traffic. Made it home.

Tuesday take the kids to school. I’m having problems now though. I have to pump the breaks several times to stop now. And me driving on the freeway. Houston traffic is no fun and if you go to slow everyone cuts you off, forcing to hit your brakes. I was so glad to have dropped my kids off safely. Almost considered calling for a tow to the shop. But I came this far. I arrive some how and the mechanic went to look. The well that holds brake fluid is completely empty now. So at 8:15 I sat down in a most uncomfortable chair and waited. Mechanic came and told me that the brake hose broke and so did some kind of a valve. Not hard to fix just have to find the part for my 94 Quest. Nissan sold it for $152 but I have to wait 3 days for delivery. Ford sells it too for $262. Damn. So he starts checking junk yards. I mean forever. Finally, around noon he finds one on the far north side of town. That chairs getting awful hard, and there’s no eateries nearby. So we wait and wait. Actually he works on other cars while I wait. I wish I would have brought my PC. Could have looked over the latest edits of Skinwalker that were returned to me Monday. Instead, I read the entire Rippers book for Savage Worlds. Scary stuff here.

Three o’clock and the part is still not there. It was promised at three. I start thinking about kids. How do I get ‘em without a car? I call my sis-in-law and leave a message. Then I remember it Boys Scouts on Tuesday. So I call the office of his patrol advisor. My damn cell phone sucks. There is so much static. The receptionist cannot understand me. Call my bro-in-law and speak to his assistant. She cannot understand me either. Argh.

So I’m getting ready to ask to borrow the mechanic’s phone. But he is having problems with one of his dogs. He has three there to watch over his shop when he is not there. This is not a very good neighborhood. One of the dogs is fourteen-years-old and he is trying to help his wife get the dog in a carrier and then take the pooch to the vet to put her down. Poor thing is on her last legs. He told me the dog actually laid in ants earlier and could not even stand up to move away. So I watch this unfortunate incident taking place and then the part arrives. Its four o’clock. I verify with the mechanic that he can get the part on and leave me enough time to get my kids. He sez no problems. And he was right. The actual labor on this thing was under two hours, but it cost me two days. I called work to tell them I would be there in the morning. Strangely no one answered.

So I go get my kids and I’m starved. We hit a buffet, which I usually avoid. But I had a hunger on and I had to take care of it. Then we went to scouts and my son passed his board of review for tenderfoot. The meeting lasted only 30 minutes. It basically announced that the fishing trip for this weekend is cancelled because of Rita. I had never gone deep sea fishing before so it was disappointing news. We joked that we would not be fishing, but rather fly fishing.

So got home and I’m starting to take the storm serious. And I am seeing gas lines once again. So I went and got gas. Waited in one spot to fill up and then there is highway patrol car behind me with lights flashing. He said on PA but I could not hear cause I was a rockin’ in the car. Turn off the radio and stick my head out. He wants to park where I’m at. Then I notice the two trucks that are parked looking at the DPS officer. So I drove around to the other side of the pumps and it worked out as some became open. I filled up and left.

Got home and I’m still not thinking of Rita that much. I’m trying to open my blog but it would not open then. Then I remember lost will be on the morrow. So I go down to program the TV. And then the news is on. Whoa! There closing down all of the schools in the area that I work. That’s when it hit me that I need to find out what’s going on. The mechanic did not have a TV or radio on, so I was out of the loop. So I started surfing the net looking for information on my college. Nothing, but the rest of the county is closing. I see that the area I work will begin evacuations at 6:00 Wednesday evening. So I ain’t going to work and add to the congestion.

So this morning I dropped the kids off. I’m thinking I will drive to Ed’s place. But he has family and friends and it might get crowded. So I consider alternatives too. Maybe I should go stay in an Austin hotel or in Bryan. I go by Lowes, because I have a couple toilets that need a little fixing. I think a new flapper will improve ‘em. Lots of people are there buying plywood so they can cover windows. There are no D batteries left and I grabbed some AA batteries. Keep the boy’s Gameboy powered and he won’t be as bored. Improve his chance of surviving by not irritating me.

Then I figured I would go b the grocery store and buy some plates and other things just in case. It looked like Christmas with free turkeys for sell. I had never seen such a line at this store. So I left. I can make it alright. Besides I’m leaving town I’m thinking.

Get home and my wife calls. She wants to see if I need a hotel. She has lots of points with Marriott as a platinum member. We are not finding anything on the web in the entire state. Finally she decides to call. Austin is $300 a night and Bryan is $170. Talk about gouging. It’s cheaper to fly up to Detroit. That may be my plan if Ed’s place is crowded. We’ll fly up there and drive over to Toronto and spend some time with the grandparents and number one son.