Three Men and a Distressed Lady

Friday morning I was going to meet a friend for the 10 AM session at the Salt Lake temple.  She didn't make it but I enjoyed the session with so many cute young and older couples.  It was a good thing to start off my day.  Afterward, I went home and changed and decided to go for a drive.  I started off headed North on I-15 and got busy looking at the crops along the road and enjoying the drive and ended up in Pocatello.

Don't ask me how I ended up 180 miles from my house and not realizing it but I did.  I pulled over at the Clark St exit in Pocatello and heard a funny ping noise from the Jimmy.  I thought it was strange but my bladder was in control at that point so I took care of that priority and went back out to access what might be wrong, if anything.  First, I looked under the car for a puddle of some kind of fluid....nothing.  I popped the hood to see if I could see anything out of the ordinary, having complete faith that I would of course be able to located some out of the ordinary thing in the engine compartment when all I know how to do is check fluid and change the oil.  I didn't notice anything so I said a little prayer and tried to start the Jimmy.  Started just fine...so I went back to see if I could see anything odd with the engine running...nope.

I decided at that point I must have just imagined the noise and hopped in the seat to head back to Utah...HAHAHAHA not so much!

I put the shifter on the the reverse position...nope, no such luck and that funny ping noise now became a squeal that made me want to hide.  So I put it in neutral and pushed the Jimmy out of the parking spot and tried the drive position.  IT WORKED!!   So my first thought was maybe I can make it to Salt Lake and just have it fixed, after all I've heard of people with cars that just don't have the reverse on their car and I could live with that for a few days until I get it fixed.  Nope, I started to drive and the squealing started again!  I drove to a nearby mechanic and asked the nice man (Brent) at Mel's Repair on 12th and Oak (yes it's a shameless plug but he was so nice to help me near closing on a Friday afternoon) to check what might be wrong.  My fears were confirmed.  he said "well you have fluid but it is burned and since it isn't shifting...your tranny is gone"  FANTASTIC! Just the news I didn't want to hear but knew it was coming anyway.

He let me leave the Jimmy on his lot so I can figure out what to do and was honest enough to tell me he can pull the transmission but he doesn't fix them there and another place may be less expensive....told ya he was nice.  So I called and rented a car from Budget at the Pocatello airport but they don't offer a free pickup so I called the only cab company in Pocatello.  I was told it would 20-30 minutes...no problem.  Forty-five minutes later I called again to find out where the cab was or if they forgot about me.  No answer and it wasn't a set up business line....YIKES!!  So I tried again thinking maybe I mis-dialed somehow...nope it was the right number they are just really unprofessional.  The guy gave me some sob story about working all night and shift changes and it would be another 30 minutes.  At this point, it had sunk in that my car repair is going to cost several thousand dollars, I was hot and 180 miles from my house and my parents were at least that same distance away or so I thought (more on that in few paragraphs)....UGH!  Needless to say I had a small break down with the guy on the phone.

At that point, I decided to try another car rental company in Pocatello...again at the airport and got Avis!  I'm going to become their biggest fan.  The owner/agent was so nice, they offer free pickup and drop off in Pocatello or Chubuck and the driver was so nice and helpful too.  He gave me the name of a friend who has a transmission shop and wouldn't allow me to give him a tip for driving me to the airport.  The man at the counter was just as helpful and gave me the same name of the repair company...whew that part may just not be so bad.  They gave me a great deal on the rental and were just so kind.  He didn't even harrass me like they usually do when I declined the insurance because my auto insurance covers rentals.  I've done my fair share of traveling and renting cars over the past three years and that is ALWAYS an issue with these people.  So if you have to rent a car rent from Avis they are my new favorite car rental company until further notice.

I don't know if I just looked like a pathetic, dazed woman or they are always this way but I sure appreciated these three men and their help on Friday.  I have a full day tomorrow of calls to make and arrangements to get the Jimmy fixed but I just know everything is going to be ok....whatever the outcome.  I hope that I can be the same kind of helpful person if someone I come into contact with needs it.  Just a testament to the fact that good people are still out there in the world

So the ironic part of thinking my parents were so far away...not so much.  I called my dad once I got to the airport and was ready to pick up the car about 90 minutes after I first stopped.  He was in Twin Falls and had been just through Pocatello a short time before I got there.  He told me I should have called him and he would have driven me home and I wouldn't have needed to worry about all of that.  I just love my dad!  He was on his way to Wendall to a business party and was willing to cancel it without question or hesitation to help me.  I didn't even realize it was Friday the 13th until dad pointed it out to me.  I guess I'm just not that superstitious.  I walk under ladders, let black cats cross in front of me but I don't like to step on the cracks in sidewalks...I know I'm weird but that is a whole other post.

Until next time...