A rather embarrassing postscript ...

Something happened on my trip home from El Paso that I wasn't going to tell anyone about because it was just so plain STUPID of me ... but I've just read Shelley's "NOT ME, MONDAY!" post (and I would supply you a link to that right here in this entry, but I haven't the slightest idea HOW to accomplish that) and I've decided this part of my story needs to be added to this little journal of my trip ... because it happened!

When I drove to Metro airport very early Thursday morning, my main goal was NOT to get hopelessly lost on the streets and freeways of Detroit City and end up in ... Canada (!) and miss my flight to El Paso. So I had my Mapquest map next to me on the front seat, along with the little hand-drawn map my cousin, Wayne, and made for me the night before. I drove to the airport without taking even ONE wrong turn. I was so relieved. I also had a map of how to get from the airport back to my house so that when I landed back at Metro Sunday afternoon, I could point my car in the correct direction and just drive home. Since my plane was scheduled to land at 2:40 in the afternoon, I figured I would be home by about 6:00 at the latest!

Anyway, back to Thursday morning ~ My friend, Karen, had told me about a parking lot at Metro that was $8/day. I guess I assumed this parking lot would be well marked, but I missed it completely! There was a lot of traffic coming and going in front of the airport and I didn't want to get on a wrong road, so I just pulled into the ramp across from the main terminal ... the $16/day lot. Sigh. It's only money, right? I parked my car and was very pleased that I had arrived safely and on time. I got my return home maps all organized on the front seat of my car, got my luggage out, locked up the car (No! I didn't lock my keys in the car ... I haven't done that even once since Nicolas gave me a huge carabiner for my keys ~ I attach it right to my bluejean belt hoop as soon as I remove the keys from the ignition) and carefully followed the signs to the American Airlines ticket counter. But something didn't feel right ... had I switched off the headlights on the car? Certainly! I must have! I had left the lights on my car all night just a week prior, had to have AAA come and jump start it, and then since it was my Kia's original battery, I purchased a brand new battery last week. I tried to get that nagging feeling about "something not being right" out of my brain because now I was in the terminal, my e-ticket had been turned into a boarding pass, and I was approaching the Gate to my plane. I decided I was just imagining that something was wrong and I put it completely out of my mind. There wasn't time to walk all the way back to the parking ramp to make double sure. I didn't want to worry about it and then ruin my trip to El Paso for nothing! So I did just that. I put the entire thing out of my mind.

Sigh.

I told you my plane was delayed in Chicago by about 40 minutes. Instead of landing in Detroit at 2:40, we actually landed at about 3:20. Our carry-on luggage had been tagged and taken away from us in Chicago because the plane was too little to accommodate them in the overhead bins. So we had to wait for them to retrieve our luggage right there beside the plane. By the time I located my car in the correct level of the parking ramp (I had written it down on the little ticket: Level C, Row 3, Brown level) ... because I've been known to LOSE my car in places like that ... but there it was right where I left it! :) I loaded up my suitcase, got my maps in order, and inserted the key.

Nothing happened. Nothing. Not one single sound.

I drive a Kia Rio with a standard transmission (I think that's what it's called). So I knew it didn't matter if I had it in Park or any other gear ... it will start no matter where you have it. But not yesterday. I tried the lights and they had NOT been left on. Whew. That would have been so STUPID of me to leave the lights on! But that almost made it worse ... because WHY wouldn't it start?

I tried starting it about six other times, thinking perhaps I was suffering from fatigue and just was imagining that my car wouldn't start at a huge parking lot at an enormous airport in an incredibly large city that I don't know my way around (even though I was born and raised there). But I finally concluded that it was D-E-A-D.

And then I burst into tears!

And then I tried to flag some cars down that were leaving the ramp and asked if they had cables that we could try to jump start my car with. I stopped total strangers! No one had any cables.

I finally walked two rows over where I saw airport transportation vans coming and going. I flagged one down and the guy rolled down his window and asked me if I was having a heart attack ... did I need medical attention? ~ yikes! ~ I must have looked awful! When I told him my car wouldn't start, he was so relieved! He took me down the ramp to the ticket/pay booth where a woman called a wrecker to come to my aid.

I will tell you that during this whole time I was praying ... and crying ... and praying some more. I know it wasn't really anything to cry about, but I was terribly tired and a long way from Grand Rapids, and if I didn't leave my lights on ... WHY wouldn't my car start? And what good would getting a jump do anyway? Plus, I was a little concerned about having to pay for this little problem with very little money!

About 30 minutes later, the wrecker guy came and took me to my car and after a lot of fussing around, was able to jump start it. I hadn't left my headlights on ... I had left that little inside ceiling light on that I was using to SEE my maps!

I was so thankful to hear that motor turn over! And the wrecker guy didn't charge me one single cent! And I drove home safely to Grand Rapids, one time narrowly avoiding a rather large dead animal right in my lane of traffic ... and arrived in one piece, thankful to be here!

I wasn't going to tell Mr. Jones about this because he has a tendency to think that I am less than the brightest bulb, but after he arrived home last night from Festival of Lights, we were talking about stuff and he asked me what time I had arrived home. I told him there had been a delay in Chicago and that I didn't get home until 8:00. I was hoping that would suffice, but it didn't. He wanted to know more. And I didn't want to tell him an UNtruth, so I eventually came out with the confession, etc. He was not harsh or mean about it in any way ... so ... all is well that ends well. :)

And I have promised pictures of the little ones ... very soon now!