Oh, mercy me! Such drama trying to go to the airport! I shooed the window cleaner out the door and made my way downstairs to go get Linda. Oh, I was so excited about finally getting out the door after all the commotion in the morning! Justin and his co-worker were coming on their lunch break to put the glass shelf back in the window (too heavy and clumsy for me to do alone) and put my office back to rights. Good!
*
As I pulled away and up the driveway, it sounded as though my car was running roughly which I attributed to being cold outside. Once I made the turn onto the street, something just did not sound right and I turned off the radio to hear better. Hmmm, what is that noise? As I got down to Kingsley and made the turn, I realized, finally!, that I should pull over and take a look at what was going on. Much to my dismay, I discovered my front right car tire was flat!!! Oh, no!!! First thing I did was call Linda's cell phone and left her a message about being late picking her up. Next, I called Judy J. to see if she could give me a lift to the airport to get Linda. Not to be, she was with another of the members at the Social Security office off Philips Highway. Nuts!
*
Fortunately, I had signed up for AAA last year at the urging of my friend, Julia, and am so glad I did. The nice lady informed me that help was on the way and would be with me in less than 45 minutes. I had to stay with my car, however, which meant I would not be able to go get Linda until after my repair or spare put on. In the meantime, I called my friends, the Douglases, and sure enough, they could help me out. The car dealership said they could not "advise" me that it would be safe to use the spare for an airport run, so once the tire was changed, I was going to drive to Douglases & get Carol's car, leaving mine there. Perfect! Linda called to ask what the status was and I told her it would be at least one hour from when my car was fixed to when I would get her. Nuts again!
*
I asked Linda to sit tight, or, if she did not wish to wait, she could look for a taxi. The next phone call I got from her, she was in the taxi and heading for my house! Yippee! The AAA guy was just great, made me laugh, telling me the travails of being a Puerto Rican, ending up with two first names! His parents could not decide, so he got both! David Victor, or Victor David, it didn't matter, it was still confusing. When he took my info from the AAA card, he questioned my two last names and I laughed, saying, "And I'm not even Puerto Rican!!" All he did was re-fill the tire, checked thoroughly for leaks and found nothing amiss, then sent me on my way.
*
Instead of driving to the airport, I was relieved to just go to the store to get my food for dinner and then head home. While I fully expected to get back well before Linda, I also knew that Justin and Ross would be at home to put things away before we arrived. No worries! But then, Linda called to ask if I was home yet because she was there and my car was not. Nuts! Justin reported that he had been there already and left so poor Linda was standing on the porch waiting for me. I was already in the checkout and knew I would be home in a few minutes so she patiently waited for me---again!
*
I was sooooo happy to see Linda and to be home after my wildly frantic morning! Justin had everything nice and tidy, so, good! I carried up my bags and got things put away after helping Linda find her room and get situated. Whew! We spent the rest of the afternoon watching "Seinfeld" while wrapped in blankets! Baby, it's cold outside!!!!
