Carter and I were able to spend the weekend at Aunt Cindy's home (my mom's sister). We felt very fortunate to be able to leave the hotel for a couple days. We both wish that Aunt Cindy lived closer! Carter had fun playing with his first cousin once removed, Emma. They shared an instant camaraderie because they are both age nine and in fourth grade. Carter thoroughly enjoyed being silly and watching Emma react with giggles. We also enjoyed a yummy dinner and visiting with family. Thank you, all!My cousin, Jennifer, volunteered to once again be my companion and chauffeur. Jenn and her husband drove seven hours on Friday to pick us up and they did the same on Monday when they returned us to West Palm Beach. Our return trip home was quite an adventure! Just prior to reaching our destination we blew a tire. Now, if there is one place where you don't want to stand on the side of the road, it is Florida. Not only is it hot, but there are weeds and bushes that could easily be hiding a python or alligator! Of course, the spare tire was under two suitcases, two carry-on bags, the body brace, wheelchair, and walker. After we unloaded all of that stuff on the side of the road we waited for nearly an hour for someone to come change
the tire. That"someone" arrived in a red sports car wearing a shirt that read, "Pop-A-Lock." Not that either of those things are bad, but when you have a flat tire you are expecting a tow truck and a person wearing a shirt that says, "Pop's Towing" or something like that. I was ever so pleased when the "Pop-A-Lock" guy pulled the necessary tire changing tools from his red sports car and quickly change the tire. I was not pleased when he tossed the blown out tire in the back of the car. I just looked at him and said, "Can't you take it? Look at all this stuff we have to put back in the car!" He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "No." My irritated response was, "WHY?" To which he replied, "You need the rim for your new tire." You would think that I would have said, "Okay," but I was frustrated, hot, and sweating profusely so my natural reaction was to rant and rave about the impossibility of us ever getting our stuff back in the car. I looked up as he sped away in his red race car, leaving us on the side of the road with two suitcases, two carry-on bags, the body brace, wheelchair, and walker! I don't know what I expected because during the whole ordeal a highway patrol officer, two sheriff cars, and two West Palm Beach Police vehicles drove past us, none of which stopped to see if we needed help. I finally blurted out, "Why isn't anyone helping us???" Jenn let me know that people don't do that in Florida. You see, we
could have been criminals with two suitcases, two carry-on bags, the body brace, wheelchair, and walker just waiting to rob any good Samaritan who dared stop. Okay, I understand that. But why didn't the police vehicles stop, I mean they have weapons for protection if we had indeed been robbers with two suitcases, two carry-on bags, the body brace, wheelchair and walker!
Carter and me right after the tire had blown, still smiling but not for much longer!
So, you may be thinking that the trip to Palmetto was not worth it, but that's not true. Enjoying the comforts of home, even for a weekend, was exactly what we needed to get us through our final week. Carter and I are forever indebted to Jennifer and Mike for their kindness and willingness to drive across the state several times. Thank you to both of you!
This is what we looked like when we finally got the car loaded...
1 comment:
Don't forget to post the picture of you trying to push the Walmart cart past the forbidden "yellow line." I've never been to a store where your grocery cart locks when you try to take it too near the edge of the parking lot! Our car was fine on the way home, despite the dire warnings from the Sam's Club tire department who tried to warn us that they couldn't guarantee we would make it home safely since we were only fixing one rear tire instead of buying a matching new rear tire for the other side. I hate West Palm Beach! I loved it when you and Carter even tried to wave down the police officer and he drove by without a second glance. The closer you get to Miami, the less likely people are to stop and help you. You never know when a nine-year old boy in a wheelchair could be a ruse...
We miss you both and love you! We had so much fun with you! Let's do it again sometime...but we should try to plan it for Disney with air conditioning and room service!
Love,
Jenn
P.S. Mike said that when he went to sleep on your hotel room couch, Carter was in the kitchen in his wheelchair playing his video game. He said he woke up at one point and the wheelchair was in the bedroom doorway and was empty. He thought "Did he fall out of his wheelchair?" before promptly falling back asleep. We're not leaving Mike with Carter anymore! He said that he thought if Carter really fell out, he would have been yelling. Perhaps we should wait longer before having children...
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