Kum Ba Ya

Yesterday was an interesting day to say the least. Because of the rain I could not roof, so I decided to try and blog some. So I wrote some things yesterday morning and just as I was finishing it up blogger had technical difficulties and everything I had written was lost. Little did I know that it was an omen.

After a while it quit raining, so I decided to work on my car, since it had died in our son's high school parking lot. Once I checked it out I saw that the Serpentine belt had come off. Another omen, if the word serpentine pops up in your day, be very careful. Knowing that they do not just come off, I also found that the tension pulley had siezed up. So, after two trips to the Auto parts store, renting a special tool, losing that special tool somewhere in the engine compartment, finding it an hour later, trying to squeeze my arm into a hole an anorexic mouse couldn't get into and losing enough knuckle skin to replinish a burn center, along with three hours of bending over and trying to figure out what I was doing, I managed to fix the old car and save myself the half hour of labor costs that I would have paid a real mechanic to fix it. But, after months of futility in all my other endeavors, I had actualy accomplished something! I felt good!

I drove to the grocery store and came out to find that it was pouring down rain. I sat in my car and thanked God that he held the rain back long enough for me to fix my car. Then I turned the key and.....nothing. I tried several times, nothing. Just a few flickering dash lights signalling that I was a moron for owning this car. So, knowing that the battery was pretty old, I called my son, who fortunately drives a toyota, to come and get me and take me to get a battery. He was very happy to do that after school for his Father. By now I am soaked from changing the battery in the rain. And, also I am learning that people are not sure what to do for you when you are in a parking lot having car trouble. My experience is that some people, on dry, sunny days, will ask if they can help sometimes. But if you drive a ford, look like you have been working on it for hours already, and it is pouring down rain the chances of someone offering to jump your car is remote at best.

After putting in the new battery I turned the key and.....nothing! The dash lights flickered again, this time signalling the words "stupid moron." So, I took the battery out, put the old one in, returned the new one to the store, got my money back and returned to the grocery store parking lot where I went in, bought some hot dogs and lighter fluid, went out, "started" my car and warmed up and roasted wieners over the huge funeral pyre that used to be a Ford Taurus. Soon, an interesting thing happened. People began to gather, bringing tupperware dishes full of cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, brownies. They all drove up in Fords, actually drove "in" to the raging fire and scurried out of their cars laughing hysterically as their car suddenly erupted in flames. We ate our soggy hot dogs and held hands and sang Kum Ba Ya, which means "Come By Here, Lord" and was written by desperate Ford owners who were always stranded by the side of the road, or in parking lots, waiting, just waiting for a miracle.

So that was my day, how was yours?