DEAR FRIENDS . . .
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES! Friday the 13th came and went without incident. However things really started unraveling on Saturday the 14th!
ACT I
Late Saturday night Larry and I were heading back to West Union, Iowa
from a very-successful Harvest Moon Ball in Preston, Minnesota. The
clock had just struck midnight, and we were cruising down highway 52
just north of Calmar, Iowa.
It was a hazy, rainy night; and, just like Eddie Rabbit's song, "Driving My Life Away,"
"the windshield wipers were slappin' out a tempo . . .
the midnight headlights blind you on a rainy night."
And sure enough there came a truck with his brights on.
And then out of nowhere, a huge deer sprinted in front of me from left to right!
Kaaa-BAM!!
I smacked the poor guy with the right, front portion of my new Town
& Country. It all happened in a microsecond, and I'm sure he never
knew what hit him.
We continued into Calmar where I pulled into the Kwik Star to survey the
damage. I figured at the very least the right headlights were gone and
maybe some bumper damage. But when I walked around to the front of the
van and got a good look, I couldn't believe my eyes. Meanwhile Larry was
struggling to get out. Turned out the passenger door wouldn't open.
The moral of the story is that when you're driving in deer country (and
that's just about anywhere in NE Iowa and SE Minnesota,) keep your eyes
moving and back off the accelerator. I usually keep the speed at 45-50
in the areas where I know there are deer. However, if they decide to
spring up out of a ditch or from behind an oncoming vehicle,
unfortunately there's not much you can do to avoid hitting them.
Doug's new van in June. Click above to see $6,000.00 worth of deer collision damage!
ACT II
On Monday I took the Town & Country to the body shop and then fired
up my trusty Astro van that was stored in the garage. I'd just put $800
into the Astro to insure that it was road-worthy. The old girl had
621,000 miles on it and was still running like a top. I was so glad to
have the Astro for a backup vehicle.
I transferred all the band equipment into the Astro and headed to south
of Cedar Rapids to play Wild Hogs on that Monday. All the while down I
was thinking how great it was to be driving the ol' Astro again. Such a
good, dependable vehicle!
The next day Larry and I headed to Mabel, MN in the Astro to play the
Legion. Larry remarked on the way up, "It sure has a nice ride!" As we
neared Mabel, I sensed a little bit of a lurching. Must be my
imagination.
After we set up, I went back out to the Astro and started it up again . . . just to listen. Hmmm . . . sounded OK.
The next night (Wed) I headed up to Preston, MN to do my weekly, solo
gig there at the Servicemens Club. As I was driving up the big hill out
of Decorah, I started hearing a "clacking" sound from under the hood;
and the "Service Engine Soon" light started flashing.
Well, the Astro's "Service Engine Soon" light had been on for the last
300,000 miles - that wasn't anything new . . . but I'd never seen it
flashing! My thoughts were that that was bad thing!
After I'd gotten up the Decorah hill, the flashing stopped, and the
noise quit. So I continued on my merry way . . . until some 15 minutes
later when I reached the state line. It was about 5:45 PM, and the
clattering had started up again. I pulled off the road and parked it at
the old, State Line Motel.
I called the Servicemens Club and told 'em that I was broken down and that I'd have to cancel the gig. Then I called AAA . . .
Neil Diersen kept me company.
Pretty soon my pal Neil from Mabel drove
by on his way to the Servicemens' dance. He saw me pacing outside of my
van with the hood up and in the midst of a heated phone call with a
clueless AAA representative:
"No, I'm NOT in a town. I'm five miles west of Mabel, Minnesota and 3 miles east of Canton, Minnesota on highway 52."
"But you must be in a town."
"No. The closest town is Prosper, Minnesota which is about a half mile to the east and a little south of me."
"Then you must be in Mabel, Minnesota."
"Mabel??!! No, I'm NOT in Mabel, Minnesota. I'm five miles WEST of Mabel, Minnesota on highway 52!!"
"You've GOT to be in a town."
"I'm NOT in a town . . there's a cornfield to the south;
there's a cornfield to the west; there's a cornfield to the north; and
there's a cornfield to the east - there's NO TOWN. I'm in the country!!"
"What are your GPS coordinates?"
"I don't know. I've got a flip phone!!"
"You don't have a smartphone??!!"
"Do you have a supervisor?"
"No smartphone??!!"
"Your supervisor!! Lemme talk to your supervisor!!"
And so it went on for another 15 minutes or so.
Finally I got through to a supervisor, he quickly ascertained
my location and confirmed that a tow truck would be sent out. So we
waited . . . and waited . . . and waited . . .
It only took the tow truck four hours to arrive. So at 10 PM he pulled
into the parking lot and loaded my van onto his flatbed. Fortunately,
Neil had kept me company; and we had a nice, lo-o-o-ng visit from
6:00-10:00 PM.
ACT III
The tow truck dropped me off in the little town of Festina, Iowa at
10:30 PM where my mechanic has his shop. Tammy met me there with our
utility vehicle, a 1994 Ford Explorer; and I transferred all the band
equipment into the Explorer. I left a note for Kenny, the mechanic, and
headed home.
The next day (Wednesday), I got a call from Kenny; and he informed me
that my beloved Astro had a "rod bearing" (whatever that is) go out and
that the engine would have to be replaced at a cost of anywhere from
$2,000 to $3,500.
We both agreed that at 621,000 miles, the Astro has been a stellar vehicle; but it was time to let it go!
Doug and the Astro in better days!
So that's been my week so far. Thank God it's Friday!!
|
Comments