I Think I Broke a Mirror and Forgot All About It

Thursday night LaGrange was hit by a HUGE storm. The thunder was constant and the lightening took on more of a light show effect. For at least 3 hours our house was hammered with rain, shook by thunder, lit with lightening, and filled with the sound of Tiko crying. Even when we had him climb up in bed with us like a child he still continued to cried and whimper. Nothing we could do would settle him; making it a long night that was topped off by our power going out.

As I left for work Friday morning Tiko began crying again. Feeling horrible, tired, and a little grumpy I caved and threw the dog in the back seat; Tiko was going to work with Mommy. He was well behaved all day, as usual, and thoroughly enjoyed the attention that comes with having a dog at the office.

We were not quite 1/2 way home when the car in front of me frantically swerved out of the lane. I didn't have time to process why until I myself hit was they were attempting to miss, a long steel piece of something. I heard the tire run over top of it and it hit the underside of the car before fully realizing what had just happened. I slowly pulled over to check my tires and when I got out was shocked to find that gas was gushing out of my car at an alarming rate; luckily, I only had about a quarter of a tank left. Annoyed, I called 911 to report the accident, let them know where I was, and that there was gas spilling all over the highway. I then made several attempts to call Brandon, to no avail. 15 minutes after my call to 911 my patience began to wear and I got out of the car to check the leak again. It was still draining but I noticed a tow truck pulled over and the had gotten driver out. He had a smile on his face and when he smelled the gas made sure to throw his cigarette far from the mess. My first thought was that 911 had sent me a tow truck, how odd.

He introduced himself and asked if I needed help; explaining that he was out driving and saw me. He quoted me a VERY reasonable price and started to get my car ready to tow. While he worked a firetruck pulled up and 3 firemen got out; keep in mind this is now almost 20 minutes after I have called 911. They asked if I was OK, what was my situation, then stood back and watched the tow man do all the work. When they realized they were being of no help they drove off.

We left Tiko in that back seat and I got in the tow truck with the driver, his wife, and daughter and headed to LaGrange. The drive was pleasant and his daughter was adorable. It was during one of her stories that I received a call from Jefferson County Emergency Services. They couldn't find me and were wondering if I was OK and could I tell them, again, where I was. Seriously confused, I explained that I was in a tow truck on my way home. The firetruck had stopped by and I was already taken care of. I apologized for not realizing I needed to call and let them know I was fine and mentioned that I assumed the firetruck was from them. The man on the phone told me that they did NOT send a firetruck out to me that there was a police cruiser looking for me. After putting the pieces together I made sure they knew I was taken care of and thanked them for their help.

As it turns out the firetruck that stopped was on it's way to an accident on the same highway I was on. They believed that I was the accident they had been called to; when they realized their mistake they made sure I was OK and went off to find the other accident.

As I sat on the side of the road, unable to get a hold of my hubby, with a dog in the backseat I was rescued by a random tow truck and checked on by a random firetruck. By the time the actual police got to the scene I was well taken care of and 1/2 way home. Needless to say, I'm not overly impressed with Jefferson Counties emergency response time; however, Jefferson County sure does have some really nice people.

The Hyundai, or Good Car as we call it, is out of gas and commission for who knows how long. Currently I am driving the Saturn, or Around Town Car, that has no radio or A/C, leaks oil, and the engine has a tendency to over heat. Normally this car is just driven to and from the bus stop. The fact that I bruised the "good" car just figures, I have the worst luck!