Wow, what an eventful afternoon. I'm finally home after a nerve racking two hours. Now I can relax with a glass of Red Zinfandel as I share a story with my blog readers...
After work, I drove over to the vet to pick up my dachshund. She's suffered from terrible itching, due to seasonal allergies, so I asked the vet to give her a full evaluation. My poor little girl! Not only does she have a staph infection on her paws but a yeast infection in her ears. The vet prescribed three prescriptions and gave me a cone to put around her head so she won't lick her inflamed paws. When the vet also told me she has developed minor cataracts in both eyes my heart sank. I realize my best furry friend in the world is getting up there in age. She's around ten or eleven years old now. The thought of losing her is something I just don't want to think about yet. Thank the Lord she can still see for now, and the meds should clear up her infections in no time...
I paid my bill, grabbed my little Tooters, and then got in the car. I turned on the ignition and proceeded to move the gear shift out of park when all of the sudden the button knob popped out, falling on the floor board. I pulled out a hand full of plastic pieces along with the spring. Oh no! What the $&@#? Here it's 95 degrees outside and I have my sick pooch in a sweltering car that won't move out of park. What was I going to do?!
I went back into the Animal Clinic and asked one of the gentlemen in the lobby to see if he could get the gear shift to budge. No luck! He kindly offered to give me a ride home, but I didn't want to leave the car. So, I promptly called AAA for a tow. My idea was to get the car over to the dealership and then have my mom pick me up from there. The problem was my dog with me. It's not like we could both ride in the back seat of a tow truck. My pooch sensed I was nearly out-of-my-mind stressed. (I could barely get my new cell phone to work!) She whined with her snout as I held on to her leash. I tried calling my mom...no answer. I called my aunt...no answer either. I even attempted to call the service department at the Honda dealership to let them know my tow was being brought in. All I got were busy signals!! I sat there in the lobby of the clinic in tears!! All I could do was wait for 45 min for the tow truck to arrive and just hope I could find a way back home from the car shop. (It didn't dawn on me until now that the vet would've let my dog stay overnight.)
Then the miracle happened...The AAA truck arrived quicker than expected. The technician looked at my predicament and knew exactly what to do. (I was SHOCKED when he offered me a bottle water!!) All I needed was to reach into the gear shift and push a hidden medal button in an up and down fashion to move the gears (while applying the brake.) Better, yet, remove the entire plastic cover and just shift with the metal knob. He even recommended that I go to the auto parts store to get an aftermarket cover. The total cost would be half the amount of the dealership price. Now I know the reason why I couldn't get the dealership to pick up the phone....This very nice AAA service guy was ready to help! After we got the gear shift working again, my tears turned into laughter. I couldn't believe how bad that gearshift looked but at least it worked! Yes, I will have to get the knob replaced and possibly the transmission re-calibrated but at least I'm not totally stranded.
The AAA tow guy was my hero for the day! I thanked him for his awesome help and told him how happy I've always been with AAA. He gave me his business card and asked me to contact him if I ever needed assistance. He even said, "God Bless!" Wow....that was a kicker for me. Nobody says "God Bless" anymore!
Did God know I was having an incredibly stressful moment and sent along special people to help me through a crisis? Absolutely! Even the people at the vet clinic offered to look after my pooch, giving her fresh water and a clean cage to stay in, while I worked on my car situation.
Wow! It's amazing how bad situations have a way of working themselves out, thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit!
-J.
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