Things Happen

I found him!



The road where the truck broke down





Big Leaf Magnolia

Well, I guess you can't have 365 good days in a row....no matter how good your life is.  Things happen!  Yesterday morning, as I was getting ready to go to Quilt Guild, Chuck informed me that he was going with a guy from " Wild South" to " map canyons" in the forest.  I thought, ok...that is cool.  He's going to be with someone else, so I won't worry about him going into the forest, like I do when he goes alone.  He left before I did and said he would call me when I got to QG to tell me what canyon they would be at.  After getting to my meeting, I noticed he never called.  I really didn't think much of it, just thought he forgot.  Then at 11:30, Janice Joplin starts singing in my purse.  ( I tease Chuck about how Janice couldn't really sing)  Chuck called to ask me if I had eaten lunch with QG yet? I needed to come to the forest and rescue him.  The " mapping" was canceled because the other guy couldn't go, so Chuck decided to drive part of the forest that he had never been in before.  I know!  ya would think with him being in the truck, he would be safe and I wouldn't have to worry about him....wrong! He hit something on the little gravel road and it knocked a hole in the radiator cooler thingy in front of the truck and all the fluid drained out.....so the truck wouldn't go any farther.  He was stuck in the forest...where cell phones don't work.  He walked about 1/4 mile to a higher road and was able to get his phone to work long enough to tell me he was stuck.  So, I packed everything up and left down town Decatur and headed to the forest.( about an hour drive)  When I got to the Out Post, I tried calling him to get the directions to where he was.  Now, mind ya, I have never driven in the forest alone before and I really don't pay much attention when Chuck is driving because it all looks the same to me.  Up and down, winding roads...and trees!  It took me calling 6 times to get the information because I'd only get maybe two words of it each time before the phone would drop the call.  I started out, thinking...."ok, I have to get this right or I might never find him".  Once I got into the forest, I knew I couldn't call him and tell him where I was and where was he?   I was proud of myself though because I actually found him by the directions he gave me.   He climbed into the Explorer and back to Moulton we went.  First we went to the " Ford Dealer" to see if they had the part Chuck needed for the truck.....nope! ( didn't think they would, being a small town dealer).  The mechanic did give him a little bag of clamps and a hose to use though.  Next, we had to go to Walmart to get the fluid that leaked out of the truck.....nope...none at Walmart.  So, next stop was Auto Zone...where Chuck had to buy 14! bottles of fluid stuff.  THEN, we had to drive home so he could get his tools and I fed the cats...because I knew we could be gone for hours yet.  We climbed back into the Explorer and headed BACK to the forest.  ( it's about a 30 minutes drive)  I have taught myself to " play Pollyanna" when something not good happens....so as I was walking down the little road in the forest ( while Chuck worked on the truck) I started thinking that we were lucky that I actually " found Chuck".  ....and he knew how to work on cars, so the truck wouldn't be stuck out there forever.  Then, I had my camera with me so I could take some pictures of things around us AND I also had my sewing with me since I had come from Quilt Guild.  I sat in the Explorer and worked on my " hand sewn quilt" until Chuck got the truck fixed.  Well, it's " not fixed" but he rigged it so he could get it home.  My instructions were to follow him and honk like crazy if I saw fluid leaking out from the truck.  Luckily, nothing leaked and we made it home.  Not how we planned on spending our day....but..." things happen".