Introducing Rick and Remi - Our New Best Friends
Rick and Remi - Our New Best Friends
Laur and I just can’t turn down a bargain. When we learned that we could buy a Cadillac along with our trailer back in 2015 for a mere $2000, we were thrilled. The former owner even threw in new tires.
What is the catch, you may be asking? Well, it’s 20 years old – that’s 100 years old in human years – and things do break down or wear out on a regular basic.
The latest catch is actually a “catch” – the thing that holds our trunk down. Everything on this luxury car is motorized include the gadget that hold our trunk lid down. It’s been threatening us for a while – some days working fine, other days needing cajoling.
Thankfully when it gave up the ghost, it gave it up at our RV park. Laur and friend Bob managed to rig up a MacGyver with a bungee cord. And, if you know anything about Laur and me, you’ll know that holding things together with duct tape and bungee cords is a perfectly fine way to live.
Sure, the trunk lid bounced a little when we went over a bump – but it’s amazing how quickly you can get used to things. Our bungee cord was also starting to relax. The only way we noticed this was when on Saturday I tried to start the car and it was dead as a doornail. What? We’d just bought a new battery.
What had happened is that the trunk was open just enough to activate the trunk light and drain the battery overnight. I was just tickled that it happened in our driveway and not at the end of a 15 k hike some two-hour drive away. Laur – the one who has to make the next call – not so delighted.
You see, our phone isn’t working. There is a long story behind this and you can read about it at https://sunshineandapurpledress.weebly.com/telephone-is-ringing---mar-10-2018.html. Suffice it to say we have Macgyvered our computers so that we can make phone calls from them – but we can’t receive them. This normally isn’t a problem – nobody ever phones us. But it is a problem when the AARP Roadside Assistance program needs a call-back number.
Roadside Assistance Rep: And if you could just give me your phone number to give to our Roadside Partner…
Laur: I just told you, we don’t have a phone.
After some back and forth – I used this as an opportune time to take down some garbage to the dumpster – the Roadside Assistance Rep put Laur in direct touch with Rick’s Roadside Assistance.
Rick: Well hello there! I am on my way! Be there in 30 minutes!
The day got better – not only because of what he said, but the way he said it. He had a “down-home” feel to his voice.
True to his word he showed up within 30 minutes with a charger and his “dawg” Remi. Remi stayed in the truck, half of her massive body hanging out the window. She was just a-smilin’ and a-droolin’ and a-waggin’. I so love big old mutts and asked if I could pet her.
Rick beamed, “She’s the friendliest dog you’ll ever meet. Unless you’re a crack-cocaine user, and then she’ll rip your trach out!” Hmmm. I hoped my peanut butter breath didn’t share any molecules with crack and proceeded to pet her. (Smuckers peanut butter is the crack-cocaine of peanut butters.) She smiled and drooled and wagged even harder.
Laur and Rick had great chats while recharging our caddie. Rick wasn’t phased in the least that we live in an old trailer, in a trailer park, with no phone, and a 20-year-old car that’s being held together with a rope. He is a disabled vet who I expect has seen some tough times, and has made his dog and his business a humanitarian service.
I “facebook friended” Ricks Roadside Service at https://www.facebook.com/Ricks-Roadside-Assistance-1589267931187819/ He recently posted that he is now offering assistance to motorcycle riders. He’s a biker himself and “wants only the best for his customers.”
I had to ask, “Does Remi go with you? Are you thinking of buying a side car?” Rick wrote back, “Funny you should ask. I’ve got her some goggles and I’m right now looking for one (a side car.)”
This is the world I want to live in. Small things with great love – with a foolish dog (and a lap cat) thrown in for good measure.
*****
Three days later I posted this on facebook… The bloom was off the dead car rose.
A sense of humor can be very helpful when it comes to owning an old car.
So today (Tuesday) I tried to start the car and it wasn’t really happy, so when I dropped food and money off at our AZ church (donated by awesome GVRVR folks), I did not turn off the car.
Then I went to visit my friend J at assisted living. Our visit was cut short because a health care provider needed to take an X-ray. I went out to our car and the car battery was dead dead dead…
Hmm. For some reason I didn’t have the AARP Roadside Assistance card with me. Nor did I have a phone – our phone is dead from falling in the water. Thankfully I had Rick’s Roadside Assistance card with me. I used the care home’s phone to call Rick to get the AARP number. Sadly, this number was switched on to fax.
I dug through our glove compartment and found an AARP decal which we never put on our car. I phoned that number. Eureka! It worked. Things took a little longer because I didn’t have my AARP Roadside Assistance number. Also, the person at the call centre – who was so nice – didn’t have English as his first language.
Ah well. Eventually they assured me that someone was on his way and would be there in 47 minutes. By now my friend was having her afternoon nap, so I sat outside waiting. It’s about 90 F here. Thankfully, the daughter of one of the folks who works at this assisted living program brought me a water.
Then one of the workers brought me the phone. A call for me. What? Rick was at our trailer and there was no car – he has been given the wrong location to go to. (So grateful the worker was close to the phone and not helping a resident.) So, I gave him the correct address.
Rick was there shortly with his awesome dog Remi. My goodness, if I see any more of this man folks will start a rumor! I drove the car back to our trailer saying to myself, “Don’t turn off the car. Don’t turn off the car.”
I had also phoned my friend LV who is in our trailer park to ask her to email Laur and let him know what was going one. He leapt out of our trailer when I pulled in, yelling ““Don’t turn off the car. Don’t turn off the car.” Miraculously, I didn’t.
Laur tossed his bike (which miraculously didn’t have a flat tire) into the trunk and drove the car to our mechanic where it will sit until he has a chance to look at it. He then biked home.
I was supposed to get groceries after I saw my friend J. It will be leftover leftovers for supper tonight!
Laur and I just can’t turn down a bargain. When we learned that we could buy a Cadillac along with our trailer back in 2015 for a mere $2000, we were thrilled. The former owner even threw in new tires.
What is the catch, you may be asking? Well, it’s 20 years old – that’s 100 years old in human years – and things do break down or wear out on a regular basic.
The latest catch is actually a “catch” – the thing that holds our trunk down. Everything on this luxury car is motorized include the gadget that hold our trunk lid down. It’s been threatening us for a while – some days working fine, other days needing cajoling.
Thankfully when it gave up the ghost, it gave it up at our RV park. Laur and friend Bob managed to rig up a MacGyver with a bungee cord. And, if you know anything about Laur and me, you’ll know that holding things together with duct tape and bungee cords is a perfectly fine way to live.
Sure, the trunk lid bounced a little when we went over a bump – but it’s amazing how quickly you can get used to things. Our bungee cord was also starting to relax. The only way we noticed this was when on Saturday I tried to start the car and it was dead as a doornail. What? We’d just bought a new battery.
What had happened is that the trunk was open just enough to activate the trunk light and drain the battery overnight. I was just tickled that it happened in our driveway and not at the end of a 15 k hike some two-hour drive away. Laur – the one who has to make the next call – not so delighted.
You see, our phone isn’t working. There is a long story behind this and you can read about it at https://sunshineandapurpledress.weebly.com/telephone-is-ringing---mar-10-2018.html. Suffice it to say we have Macgyvered our computers so that we can make phone calls from them – but we can’t receive them. This normally isn’t a problem – nobody ever phones us. But it is a problem when the AARP Roadside Assistance program needs a call-back number.
Roadside Assistance Rep: And if you could just give me your phone number to give to our Roadside Partner…
Laur: I just told you, we don’t have a phone.
After some back and forth – I used this as an opportune time to take down some garbage to the dumpster – the Roadside Assistance Rep put Laur in direct touch with Rick’s Roadside Assistance.
Rick: Well hello there! I am on my way! Be there in 30 minutes!
The day got better – not only because of what he said, but the way he said it. He had a “down-home” feel to his voice.
True to his word he showed up within 30 minutes with a charger and his “dawg” Remi. Remi stayed in the truck, half of her massive body hanging out the window. She was just a-smilin’ and a-droolin’ and a-waggin’. I so love big old mutts and asked if I could pet her.
Rick beamed, “She’s the friendliest dog you’ll ever meet. Unless you’re a crack-cocaine user, and then she’ll rip your trach out!” Hmmm. I hoped my peanut butter breath didn’t share any molecules with crack and proceeded to pet her. (Smuckers peanut butter is the crack-cocaine of peanut butters.) She smiled and drooled and wagged even harder.
Laur and Rick had great chats while recharging our caddie. Rick wasn’t phased in the least that we live in an old trailer, in a trailer park, with no phone, and a 20-year-old car that’s being held together with a rope. He is a disabled vet who I expect has seen some tough times, and has made his dog and his business a humanitarian service.
I “facebook friended” Ricks Roadside Service at https://www.facebook.com/Ricks-Roadside-Assistance-1589267931187819/ He recently posted that he is now offering assistance to motorcycle riders. He’s a biker himself and “wants only the best for his customers.”
I had to ask, “Does Remi go with you? Are you thinking of buying a side car?” Rick wrote back, “Funny you should ask. I’ve got her some goggles and I’m right now looking for one (a side car.)”
This is the world I want to live in. Small things with great love – with a foolish dog (and a lap cat) thrown in for good measure.
*****
Three days later I posted this on facebook… The bloom was off the dead car rose.
A sense of humor can be very helpful when it comes to owning an old car.
So today (Tuesday) I tried to start the car and it wasn’t really happy, so when I dropped food and money off at our AZ church (donated by awesome GVRVR folks), I did not turn off the car.
Then I went to visit my friend J at assisted living. Our visit was cut short because a health care provider needed to take an X-ray. I went out to our car and the car battery was dead dead dead…
Hmm. For some reason I didn’t have the AARP Roadside Assistance card with me. Nor did I have a phone – our phone is dead from falling in the water. Thankfully I had Rick’s Roadside Assistance card with me. I used the care home’s phone to call Rick to get the AARP number. Sadly, this number was switched on to fax.
I dug through our glove compartment and found an AARP decal which we never put on our car. I phoned that number. Eureka! It worked. Things took a little longer because I didn’t have my AARP Roadside Assistance number. Also, the person at the call centre – who was so nice – didn’t have English as his first language.
Ah well. Eventually they assured me that someone was on his way and would be there in 47 minutes. By now my friend was having her afternoon nap, so I sat outside waiting. It’s about 90 F here. Thankfully, the daughter of one of the folks who works at this assisted living program brought me a water.
Then one of the workers brought me the phone. A call for me. What? Rick was at our trailer and there was no car – he has been given the wrong location to go to. (So grateful the worker was close to the phone and not helping a resident.) So, I gave him the correct address.
Rick was there shortly with his awesome dog Remi. My goodness, if I see any more of this man folks will start a rumor! I drove the car back to our trailer saying to myself, “Don’t turn off the car. Don’t turn off the car.”
I had also phoned my friend LV who is in our trailer park to ask her to email Laur and let him know what was going one. He leapt out of our trailer when I pulled in, yelling ““Don’t turn off the car. Don’t turn off the car.” Miraculously, I didn’t.
Laur tossed his bike (which miraculously didn’t have a flat tire) into the trunk and drove the car to our mechanic where it will sit until he has a chance to look at it. He then biked home.
I was supposed to get groceries after I saw my friend J. It will be leftover leftovers for supper tonight!