Mission Accomplished: Vehicle Repaired and Returned

Here's the update on my vehicle saga: The car is fixed and back home. It was the water pump that was leaking. Who knew?? Anyway, it was fixed and covered under the warranty - Yay! My feet are doing better. They now just have tan lines from my sandals, and only hurt in a few spots. I've been soaking them and spraying Solarcane on them, too. That stuff is a lifesaver! Big D picked me up in his work truck today on lunch break to go pick up the car. I was very happy that we didn't have to take the bike because it's 112 again today. Will it ever end? Hopefully I won't have any Grand Avenue Shuffle issues tomorrow. I also have to drive all the way over to Scottsdale tomorrow afternoon - that should be fun. At least I'll have A/C and not the heat blasting at me!

Charred Foot, Anyone?

OK, the vehicular saga continues...

I left work early to get the car to the shop before it actually reached 112 today. No such luck.

The security guys found me a jug to put water in my radiator. I put the water in, but it only took about 1/4 gallon. This signifies 'other issues'. Not good. So, I put the radiator cap back on and rolled.

I got halfway up Grand Avenue and it started overheating. I pulled off, and let it cool down for a bit. I waited about 25 minutes, and started again. I was within 1 mile of the shop when the car got extremely hot and stalled. I called the shop, and they gave me the # for the towing company. The towing company said they would be at least an hour. An hour??? It's 112, I am stuck here in the hot sun, of course there's no shade anywhere...it's Arizona! So I called Big D. He gets on his motorcycle and comes down to bring me a Gatorade (my HERO!).

As we're sitting there talking, a friend of ours rides by on his bike. He stopped to see if we were ok. Then the two guys pop the hood to take a looksie. Apparently, I did not put the radiator cap on tightly, because it was sitting on top of the radiator, upside down. It felt like it was on tight to me!

So Big D goes to someone's door to get some water for the radiator. The nice lady gives us a bucket and the use of her outdoor tap. He fills the radiator and puts the cap on tightly. I drove to the repair shop, and then called to cancel the tow truck.

This is where it gets interesting: I am dressed for work. I have on black capri pants and strappy sandals. They're very cute, but not practical for riding. Especially not in this heat! I've also got my laptop bag and my purse. Big D looked for a sign on his bike that indicated he was a "Geek Taxi Service". I smacked him.

I stuffed my purse in the saddlebag, put the strap of the laptop bag over my shoulders, and jumped on the bike. I thought my feet might get a little warm, but I really didn't think it would be too bad. Off we went.

About 1/4 mile into the ride, I started screaming at Big D (he's deaf and the bike is loud) "My feet are on fire!!!!" He stopped and said, "What do you want to do?" I said, "Just get me home." His reply was, "Hold on." Off we went, again.

I was trying not to cry all the way down Grand Avenue. At every red light, I cried with relief! Once we got onto 75th Avenue, I started sticking my right foot out (this was the worst one) a few inches to keep it away from the pipes and the motor. When we got home, I ran into the backyard and stuck my feet in the pool. Relief! Finally! Then I took the picture. Please note: my foot had no tan lines on it before today...that is all burn!

When Big D saw my feet, he said, "You know, we could have stopped at anytime!" My reply, "I just wanted to get home!" Honestly, what would we have done? Stopped and let my feet cool off in the hot sun?? Not so much.

I know it was stupid to ride with those sandals on. From now on, I have resolved to keep a spare pair of motorcycle boots in the car at all times. Thanks to Big D for that suggestion!

Calling All Morons To Grand Avenue!

Today's A.M. Grand Avenue Shuffle was extraordinarily exciting! First, my car started running very hot, almost overheating, but I caught it in time. So, it was 96° outside, and I had to run my heater! Imagine this: you're in Arizona, it's August, it's 96° at 7:30 a.m., you have your car heater running at full blast, and when you hang your arm out the window to get a breeze, it actually feels cool! In addition to my vehicular issues, it seemed that every moron with a vehicle from the West valley was magically drawn to Grand Avenue this morning! Had I known the Moron-Memo went out, I would have avoided Grand Avenue altogether! So, I'm trying to avoid having my car overheat, and I get stuck behind every fool that's driving 30 mph for no reason, happens to be a "Brakelight Charlie", or other equally foolish things; you get the picture. Then there's the added challenge of the trains! If you're in the right-hand lane at the wrong time, you WILL be delayed by the train. I cannot tell you how lucky I was to remember this point, and stay in the other two lanes! However, limiting myself to only two lanes, I had to tangle with the morons even more than I usually would. I did make it to work without incident. My car did not overheat, but I think I may have. I'm calling the shop as soon as they open this morning. This will not do!

Explanation for the Random Photo

The photo is not so random. It is of Big D's 1965 Plymouth Fury. It was formerly known as 'The Black Bomber' because it was done in black primer. Now it's for sale, so it's painted 'Silver Bullet Gray" with metal-fleck red on the trim, and a low-gloss black hood. Big D and Kramer painted it over the weekend, and I have to say, it really looks good. Big D bought the Silver Bullet (a.k.a. the Black Bomber) on his 40th birthday on e-bay. I think it was his mid-life crisis car. The engine is a 440, we put in a racing transmission, shifter, console, etc. I believe it has a new cam, among other things. In short, we dumped quite a bit of money into this car. Now, Big D's passion has gone from cars to motorcycles. He has a Honda and a Triumph, but now he has his eyes on a Harley. So, the Silver Bullet is for sale. If you know anybody looking for a really fast car, let me know. It's street legal, but will run high 13's in the 1/4 mile.

Looking for Dad's Car

Recently, Mom told me that the person who bought my Dad's car after he passed, sold it to someone in Phoenix, Arizona. The car is a Ford Galaxie 500XL Convertible. It is white with a new black top and a red interior. It is gorgeous. Dad kept this car in great condition and it was always kept in the garage. This particular car holds a lot of good memories for me; we were in several parades with it in the town I grew up in. Dad belonged to a car club and there were metal license plates with the club name on it that only members could get. Dad had me paint the plate red and the raised lettering white so it would match the Ford. He loved the paint job, and put the plate on the dashboard because he didn't want it to be "out in the elements" where it would have been ruined. After Dad's funeral, Mom gave me that plate, knowing how much it meant to me. Dad had other cool cars, too. He had a 1930 Ford Model A with a rumble seat. That was before the '66 Ford. We did a lot of parades in that one, too. I can remember throwing candy from the rumble seat in the Christmas parade for many years. I also recall towing it with a tow rope and Dad's jeep, too. Good times. We had towing down to an art. We mastered our hand-signals, and after we had towed either the Model A or my car five or six times, Dad didn't even have to yell at me any more! ;o) Dad's Jeep was a 1977 CJ7 with an AMC 304 and a 3-speed tranny. What a ride! Dad was teaching me to drive a stick in the Jeep one day, and I played along. What he didn't realize was, my boyfriend had already taught me how to drive a stick shift about a year before. So we went through the motions, learned about the clutch, etc. Then I was allowed to start the Jeep and try her out. I pulled out of the driveway very carefully and headed down the street. Stopped at the stop sign, and when I pulled out, I burned up the tires for about 20 yards. Dad knew he'd been had. He told me to turn around and take him home. Thank God he had a good sense of humor! Dad also had a 1970 Ford Pickup that we called "The White Ghost". There were many weekends on Cape Cod when Dad would say, "Everybody in the truck" and we would all pile in and go to the beach or somwhere. We probably looked like the Beverly Hillbillies riding around in that truck. On one occasion, my best friend Donna and I were riding in the back of the truck when it broke down on top of the Sagamore bridge (Cape Cod). This was a fairly normal occurrence to me. I got out and Donna just looked at me. She said, "What are you doing?" "I'm going to push the truck," I replied. Donna was absolutely horrified! She told my Dad she wasn't going to push the truck, and my Dad told her in no uncertain terms that she was going to push it. Well, she did, but she wasn't happy about it and it took a long time before she would get back into that truck again. But she did. She was also with us when the motor went out on our 17-ft ski boat, and when Dad handed her an oar, I thought she would die. But she rowed. And she never went out on the boat again! Anyway, my whole point is that now, Dad's car is somewhere in Arizona. I will be combing the auto shows, gatherings, show & shines, and swap meets for his car. I just want to see it again. Maybe take a picture of it, if the owner lets me. There are just so many good memories associated with it. I wish I could buy it back.