The Dinner of Despair

John called me late this afternoon and he was in a very bad mood- mad enough to "spit nails," he said. We have four vehicles and currently, two of them are broken. The third one gave out when he tried to come home this afternoon- just wouldn't start. He called me to give him a tow.

Towing is one of the things that I've had to learn as John's Wife. John buys old cars (not classic cars- old cars) because he is "thrifty", and they frequently break down. Hence, my new skill set. This caused many marital problems during the first few towings, since I did not do it "right". He eventually got smart and bought a pair of nice walkie-talkies and talks me through it. Towing- and "driving"- a dead car looks a lot easier than it really is, but I have to say, I've come along nicely as a Tow Driver. I've had lots of practice.

When I got to his work, he realized that traffic was much too busy with all the people heading home, so we went to dinner. I had some Cracker Barrel gift certificates that have been waiting for such a time as this. (John generally refuses to go to Cracker Barrel because he hates the lines, but the dinner crowd hadn't hit yet.) He called it our Dinner of Despair. Two vans are now completely out of service and the third car, the one that is almost 20 years old, still runs but should be banned from the road. (So that's the one he's taking to work tomorrow.) When we got back to his work, he realized that there's no hook on the front of his van with which to tow it. So we left it there. (At least I got out of the towing job for tonight.) I guess we'll get it home somehow.

If you are driving around the Bible Belt and see a old blue Mazda or any sort of van sitting on the side of the road, there's a good chance it's ours. Wave as you go by and think of me.