Isolated and Stranded…and Wet (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog)
Yesterday afternoon, if you were on campus at Seton Hill University, you might have noticed signs going up in the hallways, stating that the faculty/staff e-mail server would be down all weekend, for unavoidable emergency repairs.
If you were behind me as I was driving home in the pouring rain, you might have noticed that my third-hand Crown Victoria (which is the same age as many of my students) wouldn’t go faster than 25.
If you didn’t pass me when the engine died (and my power brakes and steering went out, thus giving me quite a workout) you might have noticed that I coasted downhill from downtown Greensburg to Tom Clark Ford, the dealership/service center right next to the Krispy Kreme.
If you didn’t drive on past me laughing at my misfortune, you might have seen me standing in the rain reading the sign on the front door, informing me that both the dealership and service center had closed about 15 minutes ago.
If you weren’t already blissfully on your way home by now, you would have noticed me climb up a steep embankment and walk, dripping, into the Krispy Kreme, where I asked to use a telephone to call my wife.
If you had been in the house with my wife, you would have seen that the baby was still sleeping and that my wife and son had just settled down to play a board game.
If you had seen my wife pulling out of the garage, you would have noticed that the drains at the bottom of our steep driveway were clogged, and that water was flooding the garage. You would have seen my wife pulling off the metal grates and frantically scooping muck out with her bare hands.
After a delay of almost an hour, you would have seen her pull up outside the Krispy Kreme, ready to pick me up.
(Damage to the garage was averted, but I’m still e-mail-less and carless, and thus can’t make The Labor of Love, a service event that I really enjoyed last year.)
Update, 19 Sep: My e-mail seems to be up again. No word on the car, though.
I first started teaching with this handout in 1999 and posted it on my blog…
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. @thepublicpgh
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Yes sir, we are extremely blessed to still have him present in our lives.
Heather, you and your whole family are very fortunate that your dad is safe!
I almost hate to say it, but that sounds like one of my dad's day the past two months. July 1, he totaled a Grand Caravan. He hit a semitractor-trailer. He called my mom from the emergency room, not knowing where he was. The van was history, nothing left but where he sat,literally. He suffered only minor injuries,a third level concussion, and a severe case of whiplash.People laugh about whiplash, but once you see it firsthand, it is not a laughing matter. When he started driving again his other vehicle kept dying on him. Mom told him to shoot it and put it out of its misery. He opted to take it to the dealership for repairs, then gave it to an employee to drive, and bought him another one.
It's a small world, Julie.
Believe it or not, a friend of mine was driving behind you, wondering why you weren't turning off the road. She thought it might be you and reported it to me...we laughed. ;)
Hope your car is a-okay!
All, thanks for your sympathy!
Yes, Daisy, I did get a standard Krispy Kreme glazed (which is, as anyone who has tried one knows, neither crispy nor creamy, but I digress).
Oh Dennis! How awful--I hope things get fixed in a speedy manner! I'm off to the library now to finish a conference paper. Let's hope my silver sassy Saturn has better luck.
Did you at least treat yourself to a doughnut? :)
"And if you were watching where you were going you wouldn't have run us over...."
Gawd, what a terrible day you must have had. When it rains, it pours. (Groan). But seriously: I empathize.
I am sorry to hear about your misfortune, I stayed at Seton Hill last night for several reasons.
Amusing and heartwarming entry, Dr. Jerz.