Bad Car Day

I was really excited yesterday when I found out there is a farmer's market in Buena Park on Saturday mornings. I've been wanting to go to one, but I hadn't een able to find one that occured nearby when I wasn't working. So I planned to go this morning when Bobby was working on his homework.

Erica had taken the Civic for the weekend, since she doesn't have a car yet, and Bobby and I don't normally need more than one car on the weekends.

But when I made it out to the Accord, the tire was flat. I mean really flat. Like, couldn't be any flatter. The tire has been low consistently lately, and we knew we needed to replace the tires soon. I was hoping to sell it before then but oh well.

We didn't really want to wait while they changed out the tires, but again, Erica had the Civic, and Bobby's employee had the truck. But my dad's truck was at our house. Bootlegger's Brewery was getting a super deal on some new tanks, so my dad and brother had rented a flat bed truck to transport them... leaving his truck at my house. I called to ask if we could use the truck for a couple hours while we had new tires put on the Accord. "Sure, no problem."

So Bobby inflated the tire and hopped in the Accord, while I jumped in the truck. He decided to turn north on Brookhurst, while I decided to take advantage of the green light and continue on towards Euclid. Just after I went through the intersection, I saw the front of a car pull out right in front of me.

The woman had pulled out of a parking lot, crossed all the westbound lanes, and right out in front of me (the police confirmed she was clearly at fault). I couldn't see her until right before I hit her because she was hidden behind all the westbound cars waiting at the light, so I hit her at almost 40 mph.

Neither car was drivable afterwards, and we were stuck straddling the only two eastbound lanes. Firetruck, ambulance, two police cars, and two motorcycle cops - we got the full treatment. Had to shut down all eastbound traffic on Ball for at least a half hour. Two people in the other car went to the hospital, but everyone was able to get out of the car without aid, so no one was hurt too badly.

Even though it wasn't my fault, I felt pretty bad about my dad's truck. It's on the old and beaten side, so it would cost more to fix it than it's worth. My parents, of course, just keep telling me it's no big deal and they are just glad I'm okay, and now they seem to be excited about buying a new truck, as if I did them a favor by putting the final nail in the coffin.



You would think that were the end of my car troubles for the day, but it wasn't.

My farmer's market plans were aborted, and I just went back home to make some Spinach Artichoke Dip (that is an awesome recipe, and easy enough to half). My mom's family had planned a lunch at the nursing home to celebrate what would have been my grandparents' 54th anniversary, were my grandmother still alive. My aunt made some fantastic lasagna, my uncles a beautiful salad and garlic/butter bread, and my mom a pasta salad.

But when Bobby and I got in the car to head to the nursing home - the car wouldn't start.

After a couple minutes of retrying the key, it finally did start. The battery will likely also need replacing. Just add that to the list.

On the way to the party, we called Erica and told her to just be careful driving today. Call us superstitious, but it seems like we are having really bad luck with vehicles today. At the nursing home, chatting with my uncle, he said he's almost been run over by a car this moring, as a pedestrian. After the party, the car again wouldn't start for a few minutes.

My aunt, uncle and mom came by to chat and try a few wines. Dad and Murray joined us when they were done with at the brewery. We grilled up some burgers and ate leftover pasta salad.

When they all left, Brian and Jessica came over with her brother. Jessica told me that my Civic had been egged last night or early today, but they were able to wash it off before it dried. I'm telling you, a very bad day for me and cars...