2013-11-21

A no good very bad end of the day

So I went to a karate class this evening. Usually, I just wear my uniform pants (fairly thin), a t-shirt, and flip-flops. Tonight, my wife was helping out with a Cub Scout activity, and since she had to leave before I would be home, she would have to take the kids with her, and I would come by and pick them up after my class. I figured I would at least bring a set of sweats with me, so I wouldn't show up to get the kids just in my sweaty karate gear.

On my way to the church after my class, I went to turn on the street. I wasn't going very fast, but the road was very icy, and my car just wouldn't stop. I slid right into the curb, there was a loud smack, and then my car refused to drive. I got out and checked the damage, and found the tire that hit the curb had been driven right into the wheel well, pretty much jammed in there.

I didn't think to take my phone with me to karate, so there I was in sweats and flip-flops, just under 20°F outside, with no way to call for help.

Fortunately, I was only about three blocks away from the church (blessing number 1, I suppose), so I set my hazard lights on, left the car, and started walking. I got to the church, found my wife, grabbed her phone, and left her to her business while I walked back to the car.

The company for whom I work happens to provide roadside assistance plans, and one of the perks of my employment is enrollment in that plan (blessing number 2), so I called for help. I'm not sure if I had a bad signal or not, but the agent on the phone seemed to have a very hard time understanding the road names I recited and spelled for him several times. Then he told me that a tow truck would be there in about an hour and a half.

So there I sat in the car at a very icy intersection, waiting for help. How it is that no other car hit me coming around that corner, I'll never know (blessing number 3). I was at least able to start the car periodically to run the heater so I didn't freeze. I also happened to find a pair of socks that my son had left in the car, and that I had asked him to take out more than once. They weren't clean, but it was better than just wearing flip-flops. Once I had the socks on, I realized I had a spare pair of boots in the car. They're not a perfect fit, but I keep them there for emergencies. (Looking back, I wish I had realized that earlier and put them on, even without socks, before walking three blocks back and forth.)

While I was waiting, the tow truck dispatcher called saying he couldn't find the streets on the map. No wonder, since the agent had gotten them very wrong. I was able to give him directions at least.

Help finally arrived. Somehow, the details of my problem got mixed up, as he was expecting to just winch me out of something, but fortunately he didn't have an issue giving me a tow. I just had him tow me back to my house (not even a quarter mile away; I could have just walked it, if it didn't mean leaving my car in the middle of an icy road where it would be likely to get hit). I had a shop in mind, but I figured it'd be easier to get all the details together and set up the appointment in the morning.

So at least I'm home. Though with money already tight, I'm not looking forward to trying to figure out how to pay for this repair.

A shame. I mean, it wasn't that bad of a day up until tonight.