Isolated and Stranded…and Wet

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.