My very own Earth angels.....................................

I know everyone is dying to hear the details of the big finish of my continueing education quest, but you can't be half as excited as I am to share with you...

I got on the road only twenty minutes behind the schedule I had set for myself with everything at home completed and ready for my stand-ins. The first two hours of the trip were uneventful. At that point traffic stopped dead and after the bold people got out of their vehicles to check things out it was reported back that the stop was due to a fatal motorcycle accident. After we got going I could see there was another accident on the other side of the highway, most likely due to someone gawking at the one on our side of the road. Why do people have to do that?

According to my map quest directions I went around Chicago, but it sure felt like I was in the middle of it. I drove for well over an hour going no faster than five miles per hour, stop and go. About forty-five minutes in I noticed that my gas gage was in the red, so I gave that problem over to the angels and keep my countdown of the exits going. I was looking for exit 39B, and around exit 47 I went to change lanes and the truck wouldn't accelerate, but then took off. Most of the exits had an A and a B, but (I think it was) exit 42 also had a C and a D. By this time I am trying to fight the urge to panic, sure I was about to run out of gas right in the middle of the road, yet afraid to get off and try to find a gas station.

Just short of exit 41B the truck stalled. I was in the lane closest to the exit (not sure why since I had been traveling in the far left lane for the previous part of the drive. I coasted with a stalled (5000#?) truck the final distance to the exit, up a slight hill to the top of the off ramp and came to rest right at the end of the off ramp, to the side so as not to block traffic. Believe in miracles people!

OK, out of gas. I can handle this. In this modern age of cell phones one simply dials 911 and they send someone out with a gas can. In my case it was only ten minutes when the police officers, in the big green rescue truck showed up with my specific rescuing in mind. I was thrilled since I had forgotten about the time change difference and could still make it to class with time to spare.

The put some gas in the tank and gave me a jump. The truck started right up. AND DIED. They tried it again, same thing. The officer says, "I hate to tell you this, but I don't think you were out of gas. I am going to have to tow you off the ramp to get you out of traffic." Mmmmm, time for plan B. Not that I had a plan B, but I am resourceful. I could handle this.

AND I have AAA. Once the officers had me safely parked on a side street I gave thanks yet again for my cell phone and called for a tow truck. Since the estimated time of arrival of my tow would be after the start of class I tried to call and let them know. No answer, left a message, but when would they get that? Now my problem solving techniques (and a great husband) kicked into high gear. I called (my) Mister and told him to get into my inbox, find an e-mail from the school and send them an e-mail letting them know I was stranded and would be late. Within five minutes someone from the school called and left a cell number and said they would pick me up once I had the truck taken care of. Then he lmapquested directions from the place AAA said to take the truck for repairs to the school, and gave them to me over the phone. I now knew I where I was, and how to get from point B to point C. Now I just had to wait for the tow truck, and wait I did...

And waited... And waited. Did I tell you I am not a very patient person? I think the fact that I had headed out at 4 AM that morning to run 18 miles (doing 17 of it on an ankle that I twisted during the first mile), the long drive, and my strong hatred of being late (or less than perfect) for anything had something to do with making the wait seem much longer than the actual thirty minutes that it was.

The driver finally showed up and after introducing myself told him he was my own personal angel, sent to take care of me. He seemed flattered with my compliment. Little did I know the magnitude of that statement at the time I made it. He told me he would drop the truck off at the shop and then give me a ride to the school.

After loading up the truck he took the two of us to the repair shop and it was closed. An angel helper just happen to be walking down the street and told us the shop was not open on Saturdays. At this point, My angel, Melvin, could have simply unloaded my truck and left me to fend for myself having done the job he had contracted to do. Instead he whipped out his cell phone (If you ever hear me say a bad word about cell phones again shoot me) and called a friend to make sure another place he knew about would be open the next day.

I can't begin to describe how grateful I was for his assistance, but I was also worried about the class time I was missing. I ask him how far away the other place was and when he told me "about twenty minutes" my face must have fallen because he said, "Would you like me to take you to class and then take the truck to the shop?" Hope springs eternal! "Could you do that? That would be awesome!" Plan C was born!

Fifteen minutes later I am standing on the steps of the school, surrounded by the belongings I needed for the weekend, waiting to be buzzed in, waving goodbye to my angle and my truck. I will admit to having the thought that there was a chance that I was sending my truck off to be stripped and left for the police to find up on blocks somewhere, but I opted to trust. What other option did I really have at this point?

And this is where I am going to leave you for now as I have to get some things done. I will continue with my (non-Hollywood) true story in my next post. Don't ya just love a good suspense tale?