That VISITOR score would be us.
Post game glamour shots of my cousin Rick (a former St. Augustine High football star) with Junior.
It was a cold windy night at the Florida School For The Deaf and Blind football stadium. The football field sits out in a saltmarsh and last night a Northeaster had pushed a flood tide to it's limits, flooding some streets and turning the game site into a semi-island. Directly behind the bleachers in the photo above is a one lane drive and then the Atlantic Ocean.
In the picture above, from left to right is my oldest pal (since first grade) Kevin (another former St. Augustine High football star), FC (not a football star) , and my cousin Rick.
I stood up at the top of the seats to take this picture as Kevin drove off demonstrating his impeccable taste in internal combustion transportation ... a 1979 CJ-5 JEEP.
The blackness beyond the trees is ocean water.
As WE were leaving the stadium, post game, my wife's 2001 Ford Escape decided to refuse to go into gear for more than a few minutes at a time.
Not one hint of this impending problem and boom, 2.5 hours from home, we essentially are broken down.
I turned the car off for a few minutes and tried it again. It worked! We had gear engagement ... for about 3 minutes and then it left.
I pulled over and turned it off for about a minute.
I crossed my fingers and started her up ... and bingo! She engaged again ... for about 3 minutes.
Obviously we weren't driving 125 miles home like this so I pointed her towards my parent's house and repeated the "turn the engine off for a minute, drive for 3 minutes until it disengaged, turn the engine off for a minute, drive for 3 minutes ...
It took us a while ... the intersections and one railroad crossing were especially titillating, but we made it to Mom and Dad's.
There we parked the Escape (which I was just bragging on yesterday and is paid off this month) and borrowed Dad's little Dodge Dakota truck for the ride home.
First we had to stop at Steak and Shake and refuel Junior. By this time it was midnight, so I drank a cup of coffee (two) for the long drive across the state.
The coffee did its magic for the drive, but it also kept me wide awake long after I got home at 2:30 am.
I went to bed this morning at 3:30 am and got up at 5:00 am to get Junior to school in time for a FFA field trip.
We did win the football game though.
23 comments:
torque convertor?
That's just awful! Hopefully it won't be alot of money fixing it.
Does Mrs.FC have any other vehicle to use to get back and forth while it's in the shop?
Glad ya'll won and made the trip back safely. The Escape reminds me of a '94 wrangler I had (and repaired) for several years. It was the most unreliable vehicle I've had yet, but also the one I miss the most. Always enjoy seeing your jeep posts!
-d
Ahhh, coincidence makes its connections:
You wrote that your couldn't get your wifes Ford Explorer "into gear".
The same can be said for this year's El Nino/La Nina ... its stuck in "neutral gear" as well.
But that doesn't mean it won't impact our weather ...
And congrats on Big Win: that's as sweet as life gets ... so long as they were a worthy opponent!
A football game against deaf and blind kids must be interesting to watch......oh, did I really just say that? Yeah, well...I'm glad you were able to drive your Dad's truck home! Can you imagine the nightmare it would've been if not for your folks being there?
Congrats on the win! (and I know they didn't play deaf and blind kids. Um, right?)
Ugh. I hope that the car fix is easy and cheap. At least you had a fun night BEFORE this happened...
What a coincidence! I didn't go to bed till 3:30 this morning! You can thank my homesickness and the prospect of GOING HOME TODAY for keeping me up...
However, I had the relative luxury of not waking up till 6:45.
Sorry to hear about you unexpectedly eventful (or uneventful) drive home.
It's been a heck of a week.
Uh-oh... Is the Escape a manual transmission? I'm going to look at one today (I've got a whole list, ya know). I"ve actually had a couple of people wax rhapsodic over their Escapes, so it's become a major contender.
Glad you made it home safe and sound. Congratulations to Junior on the big win!
Patti
That's what happens when you every time you pay off a car.
Junior's added 15 pounds of muscle since I started reading this blog.
I encourage all intelligent people to read the article at today's Troll Report. Even those I usually disagree with like FC.
Y'all can skip the typically trollish pre-amble to the article
http://thetrollreport.blogspot.com/2008/09/voice-unheard-in-media.html
Ohhh NOOOO!!! That stinks about the car :( ..... but Im glad we won the game. I got an 86 on my first calc test! I love ya.
Since Swampangel65 brought it up first, I'll admit that I'm also wondering about the "deaf and blind" aspect of the football game. Will you please explain? THANKS.
Yow! I hate car troubles like that...they never break down half a mile from home do they? glad you got home okay...sorry about the lost sleep.
Pablo,
Could be. Find out tomorrow.
Dani,
Unfortunately, anything with the tran is probably $$. We are carpooling to the same work town now. Should have anyway.
David,
Thanks for commenting. More Jeep to come I'm sure!
Robert,
Generally they beat us. This is the first win against them in a while. We do have a new coach staff.
Swampangel,
Of course they didn't play blind kids!
You can play ferocious football while hearing impaired tho.
Jen,
I hate cars.
Not my JEEP of course ... but cars.
HT,
Enjoy your trip home.
Sayre,
Automatic and isn't it ironic????
Patti,
Thanks! We actually have a winning season going.
Crackernation,
Seriously ... is that not the way of things.
Troll,
Don't worry about that disagreement thing, someday you'll see the light.
I read your post. It had some merit ... the factual part. The Trollish preamble is good entertainment.
That's why I drop by Troll Island most days.
Emma,
YOU ROCK YOU CALCULUS CALCULATING COLLEGE COED!!!
LOVE YOU.
Susan Rose,
Big strong, intelligent, hearing impaired kids win lots of football games.
Don't let this one time lopsided score in our favor fool you.
3C,
I am going home right now and going to sleep.
WOW! That Jeep is looking good!
Sorry to hear about the car problems. I hope it's something simple AND cheap. You could have borrowed the Jeep to get home.
go, junior! quite an adventure, that trip.
my daughter's college just stomped the #1 team in the pac 10 -- i'm pretty sure that it made all the difference, having the full band there for the game.
Well, on the plus side, good thing it didn't happen on the way home!
Hope the repairs aren't too costly. (famous last words!) :(
And I hope it's not the transmission!
Congrats to Junior and team! And do they always play football teams so far away from their home school?
And congrats to Emma, just noticed her Calc comment up there. ;)
Oh wow, I bet you are exhausted today! Sorry about the car, isn't that always the way? Congrats on the win :)
Ok, karma came around and bit me in the butt...my son's car acted up on him today and we have a feeling it's not going to be something simple (or cheap) to repair.
Emma has just outscored me in college calculus.
Sorry about the car troubles!
yay for junior!
boo to car trouble and fall. fall's ucky, everything dies. blech. pretty flower though.
after i eat, i'll be coherent again. hopefully.
Kevin,
Dude you are stylin' now.
Kathy A,
The band DOES make a difference! Congrats to daughter and her team!
Laura,
I fear the transmission must be involved here.
arrggghh.
Thanks for the Emma encouragment.
Sharon,
Better now!
Swampangel,
Is it ever? I hope you get off without too much $$$.
Deb,
Me too, but I stopped at Trig.
Ericka,
I understood that just fine!
LOL!
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