AM I GOING THE RIGHT WAY ?
WHERE ARE THE JUMPER CABLES ?
CAN SOMEBODY HELP ME WITH THIS KNOT ?
In life there are times when annoying events just pile up... one after another. No
one is spared. Everyone goes through them. We all dread them. They interrupt
our everyday life, and bring stress. Sometimes ...a "bad day" is that, one bad day.
Sometimes... they just keep coming...day after day, after day. Whether one
day, or a combination of many of them, when done and dealt with, we are either
a weaker person or ....a SURVIVOR !
When I wrote " IT NEVER ENDS" , I had gone through a few bad days in a row.
It all started, Tuesday, April 6, after a bad night's sleep. I woke up very
sleepy around 7:30 AM...not good. I had to be by 10 AM at Gwinnett Hospital, in
Lawrenceville. My niece Veronica was having surgery. I would meet her, my
sister Hilda, and her ex-husband Oscar at the hospital's main entrance. I had
to rush...not good.
Gwinnett Hospital is 30 miles from my home. I worked in Lawrenceville four
years, and knew very well how bad morning traffic is in that area. Got in my car
and hoped it would not be too bad today. I thought ...better take hwy 29. But, I
was in a daze, because next thing I knew I had turned onto Dee Kennedy, and was
close to Braselton Hwy . Too late. Braselton it was. I should have kept going
straight... but NOOOOOO...on Hamilton Mill Rd. I turned right, and went onto
I-85.
Why? Why? I don't know...I thought I could get on 316. Didn't see it. Well
I could get off on hwy 120's exit, that one takes me straight to the hospital. I drove
trying to pay attention at the exit signs, but what was wrong with me ? I saw the
sign....I saw the sign ...I saw the Hwy 120 exit sign too late !!! I cried out loud,
" UGHHH...now get off on the next exit and turn around, OK.....Ok....keep your
eyes open Juani". Sigh. I got off on the next exit, and turned left...I was on my
way. Or not ? Should I have taken a right? After a few blocks, I recognized the
Lawrenceville-Suwanee Rd. sign, and knew I was in the right path. What a relief !
All in all, I got there by 9:15, before Hilda did...but I didn't know that until I
got my parking ticket, parked and called Hilda, who then said she'd be there by
ten, why be there earlier? Well, I decided to go to Chick-fil-A on 120, and
have coffee meantime. I felt ridiculous as I handed the parking attendant a 2
minute ticket. At Chick-fil-A I had more than coffee. I ordered a bagel with
chicken, cheese and bacon,and those little yummy potatoes.......delicious....
WHAT !!! I was stressed from the stupid choices I had made driving there !!!
When done eating I regretted my poor breakfast choice, and went back to
the hospital. As I walked to the main entrance I heard Hilda calling me. I turned
around and there she was ...as pretty as always. My sister never changes, at 63 she
is still a beauty ! I picked up my pace to go hug her. And hug we did! Sister hugs
are so wonderful...we had a nice long one, then happy to be together once more,
we walked talking all the way towards the hospital.
Veronica was waiting for us with her dad. Her surgery was at noon. We
spent those two hours talking, sharing the latest in our lives, and above
all trying to keep Veronica's mind away from the surgery. We had her laughing
until it was time. When she was taken to the operating room, it was time for me
to go to work. I asked Hilda to call me and let me know how it went. As I drove to
Winder , I made sure I went back taking the right roads.
First thing my boss tells me as I walked in the office was that Ken's mom just
died in a car accident. Ken is one of my clerks. He is 17 and has two small brothers.
The news left me in shock. Mary was 39. The police say she was talking on the cell
phone, went of the road, was not wearing a seat belt, and was ejected from her
SUV. She was on her way to Ingles to get breakfast for her mother. I kept thinking
about it all day long.
At 4 PM, Sherry came to work in video. I was out of some supplies, and decided
to go to the Auburn store to get them. My house is on the way to the Auburn
Ingles, so I stopped for a bathroom "break". A few minutes later I was in my car,
put the key in ,turned it to start the motor and......NOTHING HAPPENED !!!
I tried, I tried, I tried until I was tired of trying !!!! I started talking to myself.
" Wonderful, just wonderful ...could it be the battery ? Why ? Why ? ....And now
what ? Ay, Dios mio ... Pepe you took care of this...and the cables ? Where are
the jumper cables?" I looked in the trunk of my car, in the garage, in my closet,
under the kitchen sink... Iwent back to the car to look again. Nothing. I tried to
keep calm until Sandra got home.Maybe they were in her car. Pepe called and I
explained the situation. I could just imagine his face. We knew I would have to
face this and more during our separation, but I never thought car trouble would
come so soon. The alternator was changed only three months ago!
When Sandra got home, I asked her about the jumper cables. She had not seen
them.. and the madness began! "They must be in your car...your dad said he put
them in one of our cars and it's not in MINE !!!" I said raising my voice.
She replied: "Did you look in the garage?"
"Please.... of course !"
She shrugged her shoulders and said,"Maybe you didn't look good"
"HA !!! HA!!! I said getting agravated..." What do you mean? I looked everywhere
in that garage. What a thing to say!" and took off running up the stairs into the
house to search once more where I had before. I stopped in the kitchen and had
some coffee. Think Juani.... THINK .... I tapped my fingers on the kitchen
counter...AHA!!!..did I look underneath the seats of my car? I left the cup in the
sink, ran downstairs to my car, looked underneath the passenger's seat and
BINGO!!!
Here I go...first I had to drop my car somehow down my steep driveway . I put it
in reverse, and let go of the hand brake...it rolled down way too fast ...and I had
to pull the hand brake ! I sat therethinking...I decided the best thing to do
would be just that, pull and let go of the hand brake. What a sight I must
have been. A scared woman in a purple car going down a hill...stop and go...stop
and go...stop...hesitate...go...stop !
I got out of my car and into Sandra's white Toyota Camry ,and made a U turn
at the top of the driveway, then went down ...very slowly and parked it in front of
my Stratus. I opened both hoods ...grabbed the jumper cables... and ....stared at the
motors! If only I knew where to connect them...I ran upstairs, and called Pepe so
he could explain to me what went where."Wait let me go outside and you can
walk me through this" I said to him. I held the cordless phone between my neck
and my shoulder and looked at one motor, then the other, trying to follow Pepe's
instructions. Red is positive, black is negative,and I certainly don't know what I'm
doing...My neighbors must have laughed, especially when I threw my head back,
then paced back and forth dragging the cables behind me....I put down the hoods
and went in the house feeling discouraged.
That night...I went out to the cars holding a flash light, and tried once more to use
the jumper cables! I am stubborn. After a couple of times I gave up. I looked up
and gazed at the stars. They always amaze me. Then I snapped out of my
amazement when I realized it was Tuesday night and the trash had to be taken
down! Ryan our "down stairs' neighbor" has been taking it down since Pepe left, as
a favor. But, it was late and he wasn't home...I decided to do it MYSELF, after all it
was mainly my trash. I went to the right side of the house and tried to get that
stinky, over stuffed, 95 gallon roll-cart moving. There is no cement on that side of
the house. The land there is uneven, covered with twigs, pebbles, moss, and lots
of acorns. To move it and get it going was tough. I stopped. I decided it would be
dangerous to bring it onto the driveway and roll it down hill with me holding
the handles from behind it . If it started rolling ...gravity would pull it down so fast
I would be dragged belly down all the way to the street in a few seconds. Not a nice
death. It would be better to get in front of the cart, and push against it like
Superman would stopping a train. This of course meant going backwards and not
knowing where I was stepping. Still it was a better option.
I went down alongside the driveway. Slowly ...slowly... until I stepped on grass! I
slipped, and saw my life in danger... I was about to be rolled over and killed by my
own trash! I did not want to be in the news..."Barrow County's death of a trashy
woman"...read all about it !!! I desperately tried using my feet as brakes, and
finally made it safe to the curb. Now, all I needed to do was catch my breath...then
walk up to my house.
When I got in bed, I was exhausted. In the morning I would call Oscar and accept
his offer to use his AAA membership, and have the car towed away to the Firestone
shop by the Mall of Georgia. I was off from work and had a lot to resolve....little did
I know what was awaiting for me Wednesday morning....The day I will remember
as THE KNOT.
TO BE CONTINUED
