The old phrase, “If it weren’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all,” comes from the 1967 blues song “Born Under a Bad Sign” by Albert King. I have to admit, that’show I’ve felt these past few weeks!
It all started with a plumbing problem when the cutoff valve wouldn’t work. In between bailing out water, I called my neighbor, who finally cut it off at the water meter. So now I had no water. Thankfully, I had just ordered several cases of Mountain Valley Water in anticipation of Karmyn’s visit. (Singers do go through a lot of water!)
Do you realize how dependent we are on water? Showers, toilet flushing, hand washing—the list is endless! I was beyond grateful when a good plumber friend came the very next day and fixed everything.
No sooner had I caught my breath than my car decided to join in on the trouble. These modern cars—anything made after 2000—are run by computers, and mine started talking back.
After picking up Karmyn at the airport, we headed to see Miss Maddie, the “apple of our eye.” After our visit and with strict instructions from Justin to stay off I-30, we took the back roads home. Just as I turned onto Moore’s Lane, my dashboard flashed: Right low beam failure. Lovely—it was 9 p.m.!
Moments later, I saw red and blue lights in my rearview mirror. I pulled into the Moore’s Lane First Baptist Church parking lot (a safe place, I thought). The officer informed me my headlight was out—exactly what my screen had warned. I explained it had just come on, and thankfully, he let me off with only a warning.
The next day, I tried three different places to get the light fixed, but no luck. Since I had to drive to Dallas, we went anyway, took care of business, spent the night, and made it safely home before dark. I have to say – I was proud of myself, maneuvering through Dallas traffic at 82 years old.
We squeezed in visits with friends and family before taking Karmyn to the brand-new Texarkana Airport Terminal for her flight back to New York. Sigh. I thought I could finally relax.
The very next morning, I headed to Wilson Firestone to deal with my headlight. Low on gas, I stopped at Walmart to refuel – but when I hit the start button, the car wouldn’tstart. After a failed attempt to jump it, I called a tow truck. At the shop, Drew, the mechanic, checked it over: I needed a new battery, and he went ahead and replaced the light too. Now my car purrs like a kitten.
I’m thankful the breakdown didn’t happen in Dallas traffic or while taking Karmyn to the airport. God really does take care of little old ladies who know little about the mechanical side of cars but still have places to go!
Thank you, friends, for reading about my latest “grand adventure.”
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Substack, Threads, and my blog, SuzieTK’s Snippets.
SuzieTK Snippets 