Let me start off by saying I stink at story telling, however I will try to make this as interesting as it was to us at the time.
Christmas morning:
My husband and I awoke around 7am to head for my mother’s house 184 miles away. Its 21 degrees outside, so we left our 75 pound golden retriever inside. We stopped to put gas in the car, picked up a couple of soda’s and off we go. Very boring so far and the trip to my mother’s house was equally boring.
We get to my mom’s house, we visit, tell stories, open presents and have lunch. I guess around mid afternoon we decide to start heading back because of the dog. Right? We get out to the car and turn over the ignition. Nothing. Just clicking noise. Okay, what happened? The car was fine on the way there. I should mention the car is a 2000 BMW, Z3 roadster with 40,000 miles on it. We took that car because I do not trust my 14 year old 110,000 mile Pathfinder to make that trip, and my husband’s car is in the shop being repaired after someone sideswiped him. So we took the “most” realible car I thought we had available at the moment.
Has anyone tried to find help on Christmas day? Where my mother lives the population is under 1000 people. There isn’t anything opened and the nearest city is 80 miles away, and tomorrow is Sunday. We called BMW’s roadside assistance to get, well assistance to our plight. The only tow truck available was working an accident and would not be available for 3 or 4 hours. So my mom, bless her heart calls someone in town to help us out. We had tried to jump our car with her truck, however her truck just wasn’t providing enough juice. This should have told us something was up. So this wonderful man came to our assistance. He jumped our car 5 times before we could actually keep it sort of running. My mom is trying to talk her stubborn headed daughter into staying the night, and I keep trying to tell her we must go home, the dog is inside! I bolt.
I do not know how I managed to keep that car rev’ed up high enough to keep it from stalling at stop signs and traffic lights, but I got us all the way to Dangerfield, Texas. There were only 5 more red lights between me, and the open highway, and I knew I could do it. Well I didn’t. Uphill, red light, car stalled out. We push the car to the side of the road, lock it and start heading for a gas station. A elderly couple driving a mini van rolled down their window and asked if we were out of gas. I chuckle and told them that I wished that was the problem, however it was a bad battery. They offered to drive us to a man they knew that had a tow truck. We did, the guy wasn’t there, so I asked to be taken back to the car.
The lady driving said they had a phone book in the back. (How many of you drive around with a phone book in the back seat of your car?) I start looking for wreckers and found one that had a full service shop. We called the number, the man answered and said he would be there in 45 minutes. I am figuring the worst, drag the car to his shop and if he can’t help at least the car isn’t sitting on the side of the road waiting for the tires to be ripped off and the soft top slashed to pieces. We thank the couple, wish them a merry Christmas and huddle down in the car to wait. It’s cold. I mean damn cold. We saw a police car 3 times but not once did it stop. We saw 8 wreckers pass and not a single one pulled over. I lost count on how many cars passed us on the roadside and not a single other person offered assistance. I am shivering from cold at this point and thinking the guy isn’t going to show up. I mean it is Christmas night, people want to be with loved ones right?
I was about to give up hope on getting home last night. Then we saw this HUGE truck approaching from the opposite side of the road, he slowed down as he approached the stop light, figured we were the nitwits that needed help and he pulled in front of us. I get out of the car, and thank him for showing up, explain what we think is wrong with the car. He tells us to sit in the cab and get warm, while he hooks the car up. I am sitting there in his truck and look over my shoulder to see, a police car pull in back of my car. Where in the heck has that man been!!! The truck driver and the policeman chat for a few minutes and the truck driver finishes up securing my vehicle to his. The driver got back in his truck and said the policeman had ran our plates earlier thinking it was a stolen car, after all it’s a nice car in a bad area, and if it had sat any longer the policeman would have had it towed instead of leaving it on the street like that. The policeman must have come by that area while we were with the elderly couple looking for the guy with a tow truck.
Okay 45 minutes later, we end up in Mount Pleasant at this guy’s shop. He doesn’t have a battery that will fit from the looks of it. I’m cold, headachy from lack of fluids and food and just really tired. I call my mom to tell her where we were and no I did not want her to come get us. The guy was going to try and charge our battery to see if it would hold enough to get us home. The only thing I can think of is our poor dog stuck in the house over night and the mess it is going to create. About that time the guy comes in from his shop and said he found a battery that might work for us to come look. It’s a similar type battery only it vents on the side instead of the end. He had bought the battery 6 months ago, for no real reason, and hasn’t had a single call to use it until now. So what the heck lets try to hook it up! It is now getting close to 8pm and I know this man has family he would rather be with. The battery worked. It took a bit of engineering work to put the tube on the side vent of the battery. We pay him, thank him, wish him a Merry Christmas and to tell his family that they stranded couple from Dallas really appreciate it.
I call my mom to let her know we are back on the road, looking for a gas station and should be home in 3 hours. The rest of the trip was boring.
That is how we spent our Christmas day.