One Saturday afternoon in September, four of us went out to Issaquah, some ten miles distant, to see the State Fish Hatchery there. One of my students had been earlier in the week and let us know that a major salmon migration was underway, and in addition that there were many interesting exhibits to see.
We had been meaning to jump our Honda, as it seemed to not be starting, so we took this opportunity to power it up from the Volvo, hop in, and roll on our way. We took the Volvo along on the outting at Jared's suggestion, so that if we needed to jump again, we would find it easy enough. When we finished at the Hatchery and a neighborhood park across the street - a lovely and informative adventure with lots of active and swarming fish, we started to pull out of the parking lot. But the Honda clearly needed another jump. After we pulled up nose to nose and ran the cables between engines, Jared drove the Honda around the parking lot some more to determine that it was functional. Then we headed off in our two vehicles in tandem. While waiting at the light for a left turn onto the main road to take us back to Renton, the Honda went out completely; first the power steering, then the entire dashboard and motor flicked out. With cars honking at him to move through the green arrow, Jared hopped out to motion for the other drivers to go around. Fortunately, a generous fellow whose companion was driving also hopped out, instructed Jared to hop back in, and pushed the Honda through the intersection to a wide and seldom used bike lane on the main road where it was safer to park. We followed and stowed the Volvo in the same lane.
Of all places to be stuck for a while, this one was good. Not in a traffic lane, triple-wide side walk next to viney, jungle-y place, etc. Jared and I researched a local towing outfit and the closest repair shop that serviced Japanese automotives. Jared called the tow company, and they said it would be 30-60 minutes. We waited. And waited. Kids had some coloring books with them, and I managed to scrounge up a shred of snackage. We ran and danced and galloped along the sidewalk. It got dark. It was past dinner. Tow company was called once more and still did not show up.
A second generous man pulled into the bike lane and asked if we were OK. After explaining about waiting for the rather delayed tow truck, he offered the kids some brand new snacks out of his minivan, which they gratefully accepted.
We waited some more. A third good Samaritan pulled up in his old VW van and asked about the problem. He, it turns out, does all his own car repairs, and knows many things about cars. He pulled his vehicle up next to the Honda, ran some cables out the passenger window, and tried several different things to jump our vehicle. It would not start. Based on what he saw, he thought that it was one of three things: two he said were really big, expensive problems, and the third was a single loose wire in the something-or-other system. He, of course, was much more specific in his wording, but at this distance of time, I fail to recall the details.
He then suggested that he could go up the hill home to get his truck and tow rope and then tow us to a nearby shop. We agreed to this very generous offer as the tow truck was still no closer to arriving, and we had been by the side of the road for nearly two hours, it was way past dinner time, the two little kids were restless, and E was still stuck at home alone. Jared was back on the phone again to cancel our tow request, and then moving up the phone tree to supervisors trying to get a refund on the prepay. Very scammy, it seems, and not local despite theeir advertising to the contrary. The car geek returned shortly and tied our Honda to his truck, gave Jared instructions on steering and breaking in a dead car on a tow rope, and off went our entourage into the quiet suburban evening with hazards flashing. Having dropped off the car in the lot of a place which claimed to service Hondas, our helper vanished into the night, having answered our heart-felt thanks with a quip about needing to do his boy scout duty at least once a year.
Monday I started rehearsals for the first concert of my new freelance career, and we heard back from the car shop that it was a simple loose wire, the beat case scenario suggested by our towing Samaritan.
During that first week of rehearsals, I got calls for five more gigs, only one of which I did not have conflicts with. It was a heady and exciting moment, but I knew it would not last, and soon I will have many weeks in a row go by without a concert.
A couple of days later, we got up the nerve to try towing our dead Chevy to the neighborhood repair shop less than a half mile from us as the crow flies. Using what Jared learned from the towing Samaritan and some how-to YouTube videos, we tied the Chevy to the back of the Volvo. We did not have on official tow rope, but we had some similar and sturdy straps with hooks. Lazarus and I buckled into the front car, and Jared again sat behind the wheel of the dead vehicle. I drove carefully and slowly with the hazards on, taking the long way around the block to avoid the steep hill. The endeavor was successful until we arrived at the four-way stop across the intersection from the car shop. The strap gave way, so I pulled the Volvo into a spot by the curb and commenced trying to push the Chevy across the street to the shop. It was a no go, so I took to directing traffic while Jared walked over to recruit the car shop owner and another employee to push our useless metal object on wheels into their parking repair queue.
Anyway, we currently have all three vehicles operating, two of which were essential the following week as on Laurel's birthday, I needed to take a car to the church to take her cake instead of walking with my fiddle as I usually do. And Jared needed a car to drop Lazarus off at the church on his way to the dress rehearsal for the concert he was playing that afternoon. And then I needed a car again to leave for the concert I was playing before Jared got home from the concert he was playing.
And in between it all, the kitchen sink slowed to a trickle. Jared turned off the water one day and did a repair, and it seemed to solve for a day. But then it got worse. When the kitchen sink does not work, it also means the dishwasher does not work. And then there was a leak in the under-cabinet. So he turned off the water again and did a much more extensive repair. Fixed. And then trickle again. Finally found a tiny issue that needed to be adjusted in the piece which connects the spigot and the dishwasher tube. Everything is working again. There was a huge backlog of dishes for a bit...
