Please tell us the story
As with any good story, its the characters involved...
My van is dead. We're on the side of an interstate. Its in the middle of a snowstorm. I do have a coat, but I'm wearing something that looks similar to this:
and this
I do have a coat, but its windy and yucky. Not anything you want to be stranded in. Home is about 2 hours away. We called for a tow, and everything is backed up. We're told it'll be hours. The van won't start at all, so no heat. We finally found someone who said they'd do it in half an hour. We wait and wait... eventually a truck with Sanford's Towing pulls up. The only reason the name is important here is as we see the rusty truck approaching, this theme song is playing in my head:
Its about the caliber of equipment they're using. I half expect Sanford himself to step out, and when someone does step out, I find myself wishing for Sanford and his son instead.
A very broken and rough looking old man steps out. Quotes us over $100 to tow the van to the nearest city, which is about 5 miles away. We have no choice, really, but to go with it. We agree, and he walks back to his truck. We wait in the van for instructions. He slaps some chains on. And all the sudden we're diagonal, and then we're up.... and then he's going down the highway with us on the back of the truck, still in our vehicle(which I learned is illegal). I'm afraid to fart, for fear that any more wind will knock our van off of this half set up mess we're on... but we make it. Alive. To the middle of a McDonald's parking lot. "I'll send one of my boys over to look at the issue! See ya!" he says. So then we're stuck, very very dressed up, in a parking lot.
We walked over to a Dollar General. Bought a pair of shoes and a bag of socks. We're unsure where to go next. We just wander the outskirts of this rural Iowan town, unsure what to do. Sanford does send his 'boys'(who collectively have perhaps 27 teeth), who say "we're not sure, but it could be this, this, and this, and we'll fix all of this(for a hefty price)". We turn them down. Now what?
My husband starts looking for someone to haul the van to a reliable mechanic(which is what we'd hoped for in the first place). We find a guy in a town about 7 miles south of where we are, in a decent sized city. He was real sympathetic to our plight. Scheduled us right in for another tow. Towed us to his garage. Talked fondly of his customers(whom he knew by name, and a good bit about their personal lives). Offered to drop us off places(malls, restaurants), but we just were cold and wanted to sit somewhere. He let us sit in his office while he finished some of his other jobs. It was a typical garage office, wet, but it had a space heater. He had a leak; we emptied his bucket while he was away. My husband mopped his floor for him. Fox News blared in the background, but we were just thankful for the hospitality.
After a couple hours, he was able to get to our van. He tried various things. Hooked it up to various machines. Could'nt figure out what the problem was. "Well, hell, lets see if this helps." He emptied the bottom of a large gas can into the van. Cranked the keys. It started. Shut off again. "I'm going to get more gas!" He calls. He returns with a full can this time, and loads it in. This time, the van starts, and stays started. "It was out of gas!" he tells us.
The man we bought the van from failed to mention the gas gauge was broken. Hours being towed to and fro, sitting around in strange places(in unsuitable clothing), and it was something as miniscule as that.
I often mention to my husband that I feel my life is a practical joke, and Krishna is laughing at me(in a good natured sort of way). "Do you hear him laughing?" I ask him. "Yeah, I hear him."
