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October 10, 2004
AHHHHHHH!!!
I went to my once-a-month knitting meeting yesterday. We always meet downtown in the big city next to us (Catania) which is very convenient for all of us. When the meeting was over, I was going to give my friend and her daughter a ride home (they live a few blocks away) but we discovered that my car alarm had been going off for so long that it was not even very loud anymore.
You guessed it, the battery was dead. But not so dead that the car alarm would stop. I discovered that I couldn't even turn the alarm off (you have to turn the ignition on to stop the alarm). The parking lot attendant and his groupies gathered around and pushed the key button ninety billion times because obviously I didn't know what I was talking about, being a girl and all. I waved my arms around and showed the jumper cables to them and Wendy translated for me. They conferred with each other on how to use the cables while I got very nervous. Sure enough, they hooked the cables up backwards and big sparks and smoke came out of my battery. They then motioned for me to start the car, which of course, did not. And likely will not ever again. So then, I did more international hand signals for getting a tow truck. Nope, can't. Chiuso (closed). Of course, it is still reposo (Italian rest period from about noon to 4pm). I knew that the tow truck guys would still be open though because I have had my car towed two other times (this makes me a subject matter expert, you know). So base security arranged for a tow truck to come and get us. The tow truck was there in about half an hour and took us back to the base and parked it at my favorite fix it shop across the street. I rented a car and finished my day's errands. Monday just happens to be a holiday for the Americans, which is very good luck. I needed a new battery anyway and hopefully that is all that it will need.
Posted by DebC at October 10, 2004 10:13 AM