{"id":2804,"date":"2014-07-09T00:16:09","date_gmt":"2014-07-09T04:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.167.168.176\/~phillips\/kerriansnotebook\/kerriansnotebook\/?p=2804"},"modified":"2025-03-14T16:26:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T20:26:28","slug":"kn-p-113-how-many-tow-trucks-does-it-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pattiphillipsbooks.com\/kerriansnotebook\/2014\/07\/kn-p-113-how-many-tow-trucks-does-it-take\/","title":{"rendered":"KN, p. 113 “How many tow trucks does it take?”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My sister, Bridget, bought her Mustang in Dallas, Texas. \u00a0V-8, 5 on the floor, leather seats, sweet car.<\/span><\/p>\n

The dealer tried to talk her out of buying it by saying, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t like rain or snow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She looked at him dead-on and said, \u201cWhen does it rain or snow in north Texas?\u201d She signed on the dotted line ten minutes later.<\/span><\/p>\n

She loves that car. I love the sound of the engine. Everybody who rides in that car wants to see how fast it can go. (Trust me, it\u2019s quick.) It really does not like rain or snow, because the last time she drove cross-country to visit, it got stuck in the driveway just before she was scheduled to leave\u2026in the rain. Read the story here<\/span>: http:\/\/bit.ly\/LIUzQF<\/span><\/a><\/span> A neighbor helped us then.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This visit, she drove Sally a lot more and had fun showing it off to some local car buffs. But, when it was time to load the bags in her dream auto and leave, the engine didn\u2019t want to turn over. There was a heavy, rhythmic whirring sound, but it didn\u2019t quite \u2018catch.\u2019 That seemed better than the finality of the \u2018clicks\u2019 last time, but not by much. It wasn\u2019t raining, so the cause was a mystery \u2013 not one that I could solve.<\/span><\/p>\n

9:35am<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0We called our roadside service agency. \u00a0We were assigned a reference number. The usually reliable agency was slammed with holiday calls, so we settled in for an hour-ish wait with more coffee all around.<\/span><\/p>\n

11:15am<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0A man from the tow truck company called and said he was on the way and wanted to know how to get to us. His announced location was 20 minutes away and I gave him ‘can\u2019t-get-lost’ directions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Noon-ish<\/strong>\u00a0 The tow truck guy showed up, but he had a wrecker, not the flatbed truck Sis needed. To our surprise, he had hooked the Mustang up before we got outside to give him the key. Even the tow truck guy saw the mistake in doing this, but muttered something about \u2018the\u2019 (translation= only) flatbed truck being needed elsewhere first. He unhooked the car as we discussed transmissions and Mustang shapes and bumpy roadways and damage to the car. Lots of grumbling on his part.<\/span><\/p>\n

12:15pm<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 He called someone and requested a flatbed truck be sent to our address.<\/span><\/p>\n

I asked, \u201cHow long will that take?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His reply? \u201cNo more than 40 minutes \u2013 tops.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We waved goodbye and sat down to lunch.<\/span><\/p>\n

1:10pm<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0No sign of any tow trucks. I called the roadside people. The gal who answered was very sorry about the delay and said that a dispatcher would call me right back with an update about the tow truck arrival. Nobody called back.<\/span><\/p>\n

2:05pm<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0No sign of any tow trucks yet.\u00a0 I called the roadside peeps. B was tapping her foot, any chance of getting a couple of hours on the road before dark, long gone. The roadside gal was dismayed when I told her the story and said that a dispatcher would call me right back. I yelled, \u201cWAIT!!!\u201d into the phone and told her that I had been hearing that all day, that I had officially lost my patience and that I would wait on the phone until someone spoke to me who knew what was going on.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Turns out that the towing company had taken me off their list of jobs for the day, because for some reason they did not understand about the flatbed truck.<\/span><\/p>\n

Huh?<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

After several apologies, the roadside people issued me a new reference number and said someone would be right out.\u00a0 Sure thing. Bridget canceled her hotel reservation and went off to take a nap.<\/span><\/p>\n

3:15pm<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 No tow trucks in sight. Mustang has not moved. Guess whom I called? A supervisor got on the phone, and I ran down the details. Again. She apologized for everyone\u2019s poor performance and asked if there was anything else she could do for<\/span> me. She didn\u2019t think it was funny when I suggested that she<\/em> come get the car.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4:10pm<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 A frantic phone call came in from a driver of a flatbed tow truck. He said, \u201cI just got a text from a guy who was supposed to come tow your car. He says there was a screwup with the paperwork this morning and he brought the wrong truck. But, his flatbed broke down and he can\u2019t make it, so I\u2019m doing it. I\u2019m 45 minutes away, but I\u2019ll be there.\u201d I knew his location and thought it would take much longer, but hey, he called. I was suspicious about the \u2018text,\u2019 but hey, he called.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the meantime, the repair shop was going to close before we could get there. They had been expecting the car all day and knew what was and was not happening, but we made arrangements to leave the Mustang in a safe location overnight.<\/span><\/p>\n

5:05pm<\/strong>\u00a0 The tow truck arrived. Wahoo! We made it down to the repair shop and the guy waved the $20. flatbed fee. Good thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

5:45pm<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Roadside gal called and wanted to know if everything had been handled to our satisfaction. I answered, \u201cWell, it was a bit longer than a 45 minute wait\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think I showed great restraint. No bodies anywhere. Yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*Photo by Patti Phillips<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  My sister, Bridget, bought her Mustang in Dallas, Texas. \u00a0V-8, 5 on the floor, leather seats, sweet car. The dealer tried to talk her out of buying it by saying, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t like rain or snow.\u201d She looked at him dead-on and said, \u201cWhen does it rain or snow in north Texas?\u201d She signed 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