2002

It was several years ago when I bought a tired BMW 2002 from a guy in Hampton Beach, NH. There was a 20% incentive to remove it by the following Friday. I was motivated. My proximity to Hampton Beach was 37.5 miles. I was working in Woburn, MA and living in Windham, NH with my boss's brother and two of his employees who were young 20 something's guys from southern California. It was extemporaneous housing, recently out of the house from a marriage that floundered for 10 years or more before giving up a few years back - but THAT's another story! - Back to the getting of the 2002 story... - Friday afternoon - it started to snow - I had a U-Haul car trailer reserved in Derry or somewhere - I had an aging Ford Bronco with the all-important trailer hitch installed - this particular vehicle also had a snow blade mounted on the front - this Bronco, owned by the boss's brother was being borrowed after work on Friday - the trouble was Cheryl (the boss) 's brother was a major workaholic, and getting him extradited from the work place was a major feat in itself. On the way home we had to plow a couple of people's driveways, then we finally got to the house in Windham around 8 at night - I think it was in early February and the temperature was in the teens for a high. We dropped the blade off the Bronco and I picked up Josh - one of the two California guys living there. Went to the U-Haul to get the trailer in Derry, they were closing and we couldn't get the lights working so I was sent to another U-Haul in Manchester I think, and got it all working - then the trip to Hampton Beach - all we had to do was follow 111 - it was about 10:00 pm.

111 is an elusive road at best in central to eastern New Hampshire. After several stops and directions for corrections of course, we found the Bronco not so willing to start. Shortly after this, maybe the third or fourth stop, I noticed the lights dimming and I realized the alternator was not turning and we were running on battery. We came to some town, I don't know which one exactly, and pulled into an all night gas station and convenience store. At this point we opened the hood and I saw the water pump had come apart. I realized I had to tell the guy working the register that I needed to park the car there for the night and figure out a way home.

There was a guy in the store who overheard my plight. He was buying moist towlettes. He offered to give me a jump, having seen the hood up. I told him we didn't need a jump as much as a new water pump. He offered to look at the car and before I knew what was happening he was squatting over the engine, under the hood, with his feet on the fenders - it was then I noticed he was wearing just a t-shirt in the now single digit weather. He insisted I try to start it to see if we could drive it down to the place we thought it would probably get fixed. I remember him squatting, me seeing him under the open hood...

This guy, and I wish I was better at remembering names, because he had a really appropriate one, anyway - this guy was with his Aunt - a middle age overweight woman sitting in the passenger seat of a brand new light metallic blue Ford Taurus. She had bleach blonde hair in a short style and she didn't ever do anything but look straight ahead. Moist towlette guy started wiping everything in sight as we took off. Josh and myself in the back seat. He knew just where we lived in Windham.

"Do you want a moist towlette?" - "Now you're going to scare those boys to death," said the aunt, punctuated by moist towlette guy's name. He turned the music up as loud as it would go. He made the car go as fast as it would go (109 I think) He drove less than 10 miles per hour on the interstate. It was 35 miles or so... I turned to Josh several times apologetically and wondered if we were about to die.

Finally after one last run from "just rolling" up to top speed, we saw the exit. The road was just off the exit so we were excited with the prospect of living to see the next day...

"It's right there... here!" we said when we passed at 70+ mph, the turn. He locked up the brakes and turned the car so that it slid sideways and when we were perfectly in line with the road he shot down it like a flash! - I was impressed! - It was only then that I knew we were in the hands of someone who at least knew how to drive well! - he did the same trick pulling into the dirveway, but at 50 or so - still slick.

It was dawn, I remember standing in the front yard with Josh after we were out of the car and thinking that I could do anything - unstoppable, after facing sure death so well.

I got a ride to the garage the next morning and I got the new water pump installed, picked up the trailer at the first stop, then the car, a day late, and got it home and the trailer returned the next day. Just a typical weekend right before I went to Israel the first time... but that's another story!