Everybody's got somebody...
so, i know it has been probably a year since i have posted. and now i am only posting because i don't want to delve into any of the amounts of work i should be doing.
but i do want to tell a little story:
It's Saturday around 6 pm and Erica, Elizabeth, and I are jamming to a mix Erica made specifically for this drive. This drive to Wilmington to see Stephen's band, the End of Detroit, and his brother's band, Oblique play a benefit show entitled Rock Against Rape. We've just passed the Raleigh/Benson split and things start to go wrong. I feel my car lose speed and notice that the cruise control light is still on. Cool. So I put my foot to the pedal... nothing... and still losing speed dramatically. In the left lane and not able to make it to the right shoulder, my car loses all speed on the shoulder half-way in the grass. After inspecting the hood, which isn't smoking, thank god, I come up with nothing. I mean it is just a bunch of metal and plastic pieces, right? I proceed to call Kali and a man in a blue pick-up truck walks over to see if we are okay. He looks under the hood, and I think it must look the same to him as it does to me. He conludes, "It must be the alternator." and adds, " Are you girls going to be okay?" Not yet knowing, we reply, "Yes." Thanking him for his kindness, he returns to his truck and drives away.
We return to the inside of the car and discover that Elizabeth has AAA. (OH how she is a godsend!). After pretending to be Elizabeth on the phone unsuccessfully, Elizabeth takes over and a tow-truck should arrive within 45 minutes. We step, again, out of the vehicle onto the blustery green shoulder and proceed to take crazy pictures. Tired of this, we return to the car and listen to music. Blue lights flash and our first cop visit occurs. We inform that there is a tow truck coming. Back to car. More blue lights maybe twenty minutes later. Same deal. Back in car, listening to more music specifically designed by Erica for our pleasure. In the midst of Postal Service's Such Great Heights, the cd player begins to cut on and off. Now, I've run out my car's battery.
So proceeds our rendition of Disney songs, including the Aladdin and Jasmine duet and Ariel's Part of Your World.
At the triumphant close of Part of Your World, a tow truck appears beside of us.The forty-five minutes becamer two hours. We all step out of the vehicle, continuing our song and meet Bobby Lee, our driver for the next hour.
He directs us to the cab of his roomy truck with blaring soft rock. And we turn to watch him attempt to load my car up. It's a lengthy process, because we later learn that Bobby has left his flash light in another truck and cannot see where to hook my car to. He uses his lighter unsuccessfully, as passing cars continue to blow the flame out. Thirty minutes later, my car is being pulleyed towards the dock of the truck. This is a slightly eery sight, because my flashers are on and my windshield wipers seem to have started for no apparent reason. The wipers are also moving extrememly slow, as the battery is nearly dead. Christine definitely pops into my head. Discussion moves to naming vehicles and Baxter is decided. We have Erica's Bojangles, Elizabeth's Sophie, and my dying Baxter.
A little after nine, Bobby Lee returns to the truck and we set off for the trip back home. We make a stop at a gas station for Bobby Lee to tighten some straps while we peruse junk food inside. Junk fooded up and car strapped tighter, the road is ours again. And we learn that Bobby Lee has only been doing this job for a month.
And that he hails from the Kentucky side of the famous family feud that inspired Huckleberry Finn.
And that he has three children and a 29 year old wife.
And that he saved his leftover pizza from somewhere outside of Fayetteville for his wife.
And that his dad was an abusive alcoholic.
And that he was wild in his days and doesn't mind if his boy is too, but his two girls better not do anything he did, because he does have a rifle.
But mostly, that he likes Johnny Cash and driving on the road in his own truck where he can smoke cigarettes.
After hitting some stand-still traffic, we arrive in Chapel hill close to 10. Bobby Lee informs us that he will need two cigarettes when he gets out of the truck. We get out and grab Sophie, grab our stuff from poor Baxter, and say goodbye and thank Bobby Lee.
And begin our trip again with some of the wonders of Freddie Mercury's voice.
This time we make it.
And it only took us six and a half hours to get there.
but i do want to tell a little story:
It's Saturday around 6 pm and Erica, Elizabeth, and I are jamming to a mix Erica made specifically for this drive. This drive to Wilmington to see Stephen's band, the End of Detroit, and his brother's band, Oblique play a benefit show entitled Rock Against Rape. We've just passed the Raleigh/Benson split and things start to go wrong. I feel my car lose speed and notice that the cruise control light is still on. Cool. So I put my foot to the pedal... nothing... and still losing speed dramatically. In the left lane and not able to make it to the right shoulder, my car loses all speed on the shoulder half-way in the grass. After inspecting the hood, which isn't smoking, thank god, I come up with nothing. I mean it is just a bunch of metal and plastic pieces, right? I proceed to call Kali and a man in a blue pick-up truck walks over to see if we are okay. He looks under the hood, and I think it must look the same to him as it does to me. He conludes, "It must be the alternator." and adds, " Are you girls going to be okay?" Not yet knowing, we reply, "Yes." Thanking him for his kindness, he returns to his truck and drives away.
We return to the inside of the car and discover that Elizabeth has AAA. (OH how she is a godsend!). After pretending to be Elizabeth on the phone unsuccessfully, Elizabeth takes over and a tow-truck should arrive within 45 minutes. We step, again, out of the vehicle onto the blustery green shoulder and proceed to take crazy pictures. Tired of this, we return to the car and listen to music. Blue lights flash and our first cop visit occurs. We inform that there is a tow truck coming. Back to car. More blue lights maybe twenty minutes later. Same deal. Back in car, listening to more music specifically designed by Erica for our pleasure. In the midst of Postal Service's Such Great Heights, the cd player begins to cut on and off. Now, I've run out my car's battery.
So proceeds our rendition of Disney songs, including the Aladdin and Jasmine duet and Ariel's Part of Your World.
At the triumphant close of Part of Your World, a tow truck appears beside of us.The forty-five minutes becamer two hours. We all step out of the vehicle, continuing our song and meet Bobby Lee, our driver for the next hour.
He directs us to the cab of his roomy truck with blaring soft rock. And we turn to watch him attempt to load my car up. It's a lengthy process, because we later learn that Bobby has left his flash light in another truck and cannot see where to hook my car to. He uses his lighter unsuccessfully, as passing cars continue to blow the flame out. Thirty minutes later, my car is being pulleyed towards the dock of the truck. This is a slightly eery sight, because my flashers are on and my windshield wipers seem to have started for no apparent reason. The wipers are also moving extrememly slow, as the battery is nearly dead. Christine definitely pops into my head. Discussion moves to naming vehicles and Baxter is decided. We have Erica's Bojangles, Elizabeth's Sophie, and my dying Baxter.
A little after nine, Bobby Lee returns to the truck and we set off for the trip back home. We make a stop at a gas station for Bobby Lee to tighten some straps while we peruse junk food inside. Junk fooded up and car strapped tighter, the road is ours again. And we learn that Bobby Lee has only been doing this job for a month.
And that he hails from the Kentucky side of the famous family feud that inspired Huckleberry Finn.
And that he has three children and a 29 year old wife.
And that he saved his leftover pizza from somewhere outside of Fayetteville for his wife.
And that his dad was an abusive alcoholic.
And that he was wild in his days and doesn't mind if his boy is too, but his two girls better not do anything he did, because he does have a rifle.
But mostly, that he likes Johnny Cash and driving on the road in his own truck where he can smoke cigarettes.
After hitting some stand-still traffic, we arrive in Chapel hill close to 10. Bobby Lee informs us that he will need two cigarettes when he gets out of the truck. We get out and grab Sophie, grab our stuff from poor Baxter, and say goodbye and thank Bobby Lee.
And begin our trip again with some of the wonders of Freddie Mercury's voice.
This time we make it.
And it only took us six and a half hours to get there.