A Very Bad Day

October 27, 2002 was a very bad day. I posted this message on the Car Free list on October 28:

Ok, I drive once every three months. Every three months I borrow my husband's car to drive from Ann Arbor to Manchester, about 30 miles, to have my angora rabbit sheared. That's the only time I drive anymore. Yesterday I set out to do this. I made it most of the way there, and then the car died. Just died. It was just fine, and then it wasn't. I steered onto the shoulder as it died, sat there, and thought, "well, now what do I do?" I don't have a cell phone. There was no alternative but to go knock on some total stranger's door and hope they're not a psycho. So I went to the nearest house and knocked. And no one was home. Great. I went to the next house, not exactly close (this is out in the country) and knocked, thinking "don't be an ax murderer...don't be an ax murderer..." and some guy answered. I said "hi, my car died. Can I use your phone?" He said "sure, come on in." I step in, thinking, ok, so far, so good, he doesn't seem like a psycho...he says "I'll get the phone." Great! He's got a cordless phone, so I can stand here by the door where I can make a quick exit if I need to. I don't have to go further into his house and risk being duct taped to a chair. He brings me the phone and I call Susan. I tell her I got most of the way to her house when my car died and she says she'll come pick me up. She asks where I am, I ask the guy what his address is. It sounds familiar to her. She asks what his name is. I ask him. She says he's a member of her church. I'm relieved. I hang up and tell him Susan's coming to pick me up. He had kind of picked up that whoever I was talking to knew who he was so he asked who it was and I said Susan W (I'll preserve her privacy here) and he said "oh, she's a member of my church!" After that, I stood around waiting for awhile, and while he didn't ask me to sit down, he made small talk and didn't seem eager to get rid of me, so I said "I'm gonna go get my rabbit out of the car. I don't really want to leave her out there." So I went and got Frida and came back and knocked on the door, and no one answered. Oh. Gee, I had kind of assumed that because you knew Susan and you knew that I was waiting for Susan you would let me wait inside. But I guess you're gonna make me wait outside. In the cold. Ok. Thanks a lot. Jerk. As I was walking away from the door a van pulled in the driveway, and I thought at first it must be Susan, but then I realized it wasn't when the garage door opened. A woman got out. Her voice said "can I help you?" Her tone said "what are you doing here?" I said "oh, hi. Your husband let me use the phone earlier to call Susan W. My car died. Susan's coming to pick me up." "You know Susan W?" "Yeah. When your van pulled in, I thought you were Susan." "Oh." For about half a second I thought maybe she would invite me to come wait inside, and then I realized that wasn't gonna happen in a million years. She went in the house. I went and stood at the end of the driveway. After about 10 minutes, Susan, her husband, and her brother showed up. They looked at the car but weren't able to figure anything out, so we decided to go back to their house. While Susan sheared Frida I called a towing place to find out how much it would cost and how long it would take them to get there. $45 plus $3 a mile. They wouldn't tell me a time to meet them at the car. They said I had to call them once I was at the car (gee, I love the way they assume everyone has a cell phone!), and then they would leave. Grr. Sigh. Well, Susan actually did have a car phone, we called from her driveway when we were ready to leave her house, it took us 10 minutes to get to the car, and then we waited 45 minutes for the tow truck. We met the tow truck at the gas station, I paid the driver $109, I filled out the paperwork for the mechanic to do the repair work, and Susan drove me and Frida home. Home at last, 5 1/2 hours after we left, exhausted. I never want to drive again. I mean it. Yesterday was just incredibly stressful and exhausting. It totally sucked. Maybe next time Frida needs to be sheared I'll try to do it myself. I tried to do it myself a couple of times years ago when I first got her, but I gave up. Somehow it took me 8 hours. Susan can do it in an hour. But Frida's older and mellower. She's 7 now. And I've watched Susan do it so many times, maybe I've learned how to do it. When I tried to do it those two times, I had never watched her do it. Even if it takes me three hours, I'm ahead of the game. It's worth a try. I don't even have to do it all at once. I can do an hour each night until it's done. So she'll look kind of funny for a few nights. It's gotta be better than what I went through yesterday.

My husband just emailed me. The mechanic says the timing belt broke and it will cost $220 to fix. Ok, first of all, cars just suck. Why does it cost $220 to replace a broken belt? Bikes are better than cars. I got a new bottom bracket and new brake pads for $70. Second, my husband drives all the time. I drive the stupid car once every three months. Why did the stupid thing have to wait till I was driving to break? Was it offended because I had my "Cars suck" water bottle with me? Look, car, I don't like you, you don't like me...ok fine...

That's it. I'm just not gonna drive anymore. I'm just gonna have to shear Frida myself.

Epilogue

When I announced to people my decision not to drive anymore, my husband asked if I would make an exception to drive him to the hospital if necessary. Obviously in a real emergency I would call an ambulance, but the few times I've needed to take him to the hospital over the years, it hasn't warranted an ambulance -- he just needed to go to the ER. So I told him yes, I would make an exception only in that situation. As I discussed this on the Icebike list, however, some people, including a paramedic, wisely pointed out that in such a situation, it would be a very bad time for me to try to drive. By the time of such an event, several years might have passed since the last time I had driven. After I sold my car and was still borrowing my husband's car on occasion, I was driving only every three months, and I had to sit there in the car each time for five minutes trying to remember how everything worked all over again! When I was pumped full of adrenaline because my husband just said "Can you take me to the hospital?" would definitely not be the time to try to remember how to drive after a several year hiatus. I'd be likely to just sit there paralyzed or get us into an accident. It would make far more sense to call an ambulance if necessary, otherwise a friend or a taxi. So there is no need for me to drive at all.