Wednesday, June 30, 2010
About that Saturn I mentioned in the last blog . . . . I sit here in the car dealership, waiting.
It is a rule of life for the struggling masses that if One Of The Struggling 1) is arrogant enough to plan a trip, and 2) is prudent enough to have his/her car serviced prior to that trip, said car will require extreme repairs before the trip begins.
Quote of the day from a very nice man at Asheville Chevrolet (which now repairs Saturns): "Whew! I'm shore glad you didn't take off on a trip to Austin in that car! You'd be broke down somewhere on the side of the road in the middle of Arkansas, wondering what happened." An image flashes across my mind: Me. Broke down on the side of the road in the middle of Arkansas. No cell phone signal because of the Ozarks surrounding me. Wondering, "What happened?!?"
Looks like the bill will be about $700 unless the warranty is still in effect for some of it.
I drove a rental car all day as I dashed to appointments, meeting deadlines.
["Deadline" was a word originally used in Civil War prisons -- I think places like Andersonville, Georgia. (Should I try to visit that site as I drive to Austin?) The "deadline" was the line beyond which no prisoner could crawl without being shot. Particularly appropriate to this day.]
The nice man just approached and asked, "What time did you say you was wantin' to leave on that trip in the mornin'? We ain't got the right axle. They was boxed wrong."

I got my problems: the heat, the pressure of the job, the broken car, the desperation to Get Outta Town and Head West. And they got their problems: Wrongly boxed axles.
So I may not get started as early tomorrow morning as I had hoped. But at least I won't get broke down on the side of the road in the middle of Arkansas. They promise.

MONDAY, JUNE 28
If you are reading this sentence you have decided to follow me to hell and ba -- I mean, to Texas and back. A good and funny friend of mine asked that I "educate him" about the trek I'm taking (especially the Civil Rights sites I plan to visit), and I forgot that I have a blog address which has never been blogged. A sort of virgin blog, I guess.
So here goes. I don't know if I'm doing this correctly -- we shall see. Even if nobody but my uneducated :-) friend reads these entries, this will be a great way to secure memories of the trip. I just hope I remember how to get back home.
Of course I was kidding about the "hell" part up there. It will be heavenly to see Amity, James, Ruby and Holden for a few days! No matter how long I decide to stay in Austin, I will feel that ol' Separation Anxiety when I leave. Amity keeps texting, "Mom, come on out! We'll do yoga!" Translation: "I will do yoga while you have a cold drink and watch me."
This past weekend (June 25 and 27) was full of angst as I tried to decide whether to fly out or to drive. I have really enjoyed my auto-solo vacations in the past: around New England (the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, Mark Twain's Hartford house); to St. Louis to teach the Mark Twain course and then to his home in Hannibal; and of course my numerous trips to see Emmaline in Virginia. I have been out to Austin a couple of times, but never in my Saturn.
Hotel reservations are made, mile distances are estimated. Now all I have to do is get through this week of work, find some great books-on-CD, launder, mow, weed, pack -- and buy some salsa from Maria's Mexican Pueblo to deliver to Amity. (She lives in TEXAS but she likes Maria's salsa best!)
Let's see if these paragraphs "took." If they did, more soon.