Unedited at all, still in Books A Million.
Last week a fluid was leaking from my car when I parked. It was green and rainbow looking. A guy nearby put his finger in it, rubbed it with his thumb, smelled it, and declared that he believed it was antifreeze. That statement struck fear in my heart and pocketbook. Another guy on another day told me the same thing.
Today, feeling ill, I slept 13 hours and got up at the crack of noon. (I put the hens in their yard at 8am and returned to bed.)
Yes, I was taking antibiotics and they made me feel really horrendous. But, I braved the chill sprinkles and headed out to Jack's Radiator Shop on Convent Road. Yes, there is a convent there. Jack's is the best radiator shop around, but I have to head out in the country (zoned city).
Thankfully, I don't visit Jack's Radiator Shop often, but between the rain, feeling ill with a temperature, and the not-totally-familiarity, I turned on the wrong road. I realized it immediately and was going to turn around in the first driveway about an eighth of a mile down the road. But, I saw a truck about a quarter of a mile away, coming toward me.
I stopped in the road and waited for the truck. I rolled down the window and waggled my hand for him to stop. He kept coming at 90 to my nothing. That sorely disappointed me. As he sped past, a brown wave rose up. I had stopped on a gravel road and there was a mud puddle next to my window.
The brown wave sloshed up from the road and time crept by until the brown wave hit me full in the face! When I saw the brown wave, I let out a little squeak with open mouth. As I spit and sputtered, trying to see through mud, the driver of the truck backed up and apologized. When I asked them if they had anything to dry my eyes, the driver handed me a wad of napkins. I swabbed my eyes. I swabbed my face, neck, hair, and both arms. I patted my left sleeve and chest. My pants were soaked--thigh level and calf level. Later, I realized my panties were wet.
As I spit and sputtered and swabbed myself, trying to removed muddy water, the guy kept apologizing. NOW, I could see their faces. They must have been injuring themselves in places I could not see in order to keep from laughing because both guys had the smallest glimmer of a smile at the corners of their mouths. Their faces, otherwise, were inordinately serious.
Well, not to be outdone by muddy water in the mouth and up the nose, I asked them if I was on the right road to get to Jack's Radiator Shop. No, the guys in the Richard's Electric Truck had no idea. The guy kept apologizing profusely, saying he did not see my hand until the last moment. Yes, and the smile tried to creep past the corners of his mouth into a full mouth grin.
As it turned out, I needed to go one street further to get to the right road. I had several stops to make later and had no pick to use on my hair. Besides, it stayed wet for a long time, just plastered to one side of my head. Only one half the bangs were plastered to my forehead. The blouse and pants were both on their first day of wearing. But, both need the mud removed now. Maybe the Alabama dirt will not stain this pink blouse.
The guy at Jack's radiator shop declared all fit under the hood. I am to return in two weeks for him to look again. And, I got muddy to hear that. I had cancelled a doctor's appointment in Huntsville because of the leak I thought I had.
But, this was a Meg Ryan moment. I am not cute like her, but I did the whole gasping, holding the breath for a moment, and the shocked-into-immobility bit.
PS
I had brought a tall plastic cup and milk and cereal to eat. After the soaking, I ate it. Then, I realized the shoes on the seat beside me were soaked and the cup was wet as I held it. Sigh...I ate muddy water. I am not dead yet.
PPS
The liquid was water from ac that mixed with something else dried on the pavement. The dry day and my drip made it appear I had a problem.
Cautionary tale
Never leave the window open on a muddy road. Okay, I bet you all knew that! Actually, I grew up before ac was common in cars, so I "knew" it, too. If the truck had slowed and stopped, I would have been safe. Okay, the moral is don't trust the truck. AND, close your mouth and eyes when you see a brown or any other color wave coming.
Your turn
Who's happy for my car's apparent health? LOL. Have you ever received a complete sloshing like this? No, I don't mean in a water park.
I am sure it wasn't all that amusing at the time, but this tale brought a little smile to my face this morning. I am glad the car is okay and that the brown water was non-toxic....
ReplyDeleteI was the gunner on a Humvee in a Middle Eastern country. Our Lieutenant decided that he was bored in the commander's seat and wanted to drive the truck, so he swapped out with the driver and off we went. Much of the sewage is routed from the homes out onto the streets there, so in low spots and potholes there would be big black puddles that smelled about as bad as sun-baked raw sewage can. He aimed for the biggest one he could find and a big wave of black water came up over the truck and down into my gunner's hatch, covering me in the stuff. I never had much respect for him as a leader after that incident.
ReplyDeleteChris, you make me feel so grateful for my muddy water dousing. I think I would have to have some sort of retribution for that act of his. But, he probably had others who felt the same way who DID do things to him. You could have caught something awful from that crap! I will have to visit your site. Thanks for stopping by and the comment and grossing me out...LOL.
ReplyDelete