The intended good: A 12-mile hike in the Red Buttes Wilderness with my son, Ela, for my birthday last week.
The first bad: A flash from the "overheating" light when we're six miles up a winding, uphill, gravel road headed for the trailhead. Steam billowing from the hood.
The good: A lovely little waterfall at the side of the road from which I fill the water bottle. Ela pours water into the radiator. And again. And again.
The bad: A leak in the radiator. We are going nowhere.
The bad: No cell service.
The good or the bad, depending: A 12-mile hike before us, after all, just not where we intended.
The good: Cell signal after three miles. Ela texts a friend for rescue.
The bad: No response.
The good: After another mile: a car coming up the road. William! He takes us to his house, where I call AAA.
The bad: On hold interminably.
The good: AAA response.
The bad: My AAA membership is in Oregon, but the car is just over the border in California. AAA won't cross borders. More long holds to talk to AAA California.
The good: AAA response. They will send a tow truck from Yreka, California. I explain that it would be closer to send one from Grants Pass, Oregon.
The bad: Rules are Rules.
The bad: More long holds while they try to find a tow truck driver.
The good: Response from a tow truck driver. We send the GPS coordinates for the location of the car. He would meet us at the car at 2:00.
The good: A car to drive while mine is in the shop—William's parents'. They are vacationing in Alaska and won't mind, he assures me.
The bad: Ela and I wait another hour at my car for the tow truck. He watches the road. I write a poem. The two truck arrives with a very unhappy driver. The road had been terrible. His big flatbed trailer had buckled and fishtailed over every pothole.
The bad: I'm not happy, either, with my crippled car.
The good: The tow truck diver hauls my car to my mechanic in Grants Pass. Ela and I go home in the Prius.
The bad: Modern radiators are plastic, throw-away parts.
The good: Lighter cars have better gas mileage.
Conclusions of the bad: A long, tedious day. I had missed my birthday hike.
Conclusions of the good: Good friends to help. A car to drive while mine is being fixed. AAA assistance at no cost. Best of all, the competent and cheerful companionship of my son on a frustrating day.
Conclusions of the day: Not so bad, after all.
Thanks for sharing; what a day! Years ago, when our home was broken into, I wrote an essay about the good, the bad, and the ugly. Bottom line, we were OK, our stuff was replaceable, and we were able to work through the system of banks and insurance companies etc.
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