Lessons Learned

Over the weekend, Friday and Saturday, I have been dealing with a truck that has gone Ka-put! My truck, actually an SUV but saying SUV sounds so suburbanite-ish- my truck cracked a cylinder, a head gasket, and probably damaged a whole lot more. As one mechanic has explained, "Rev. Bo, you're going to have to make a major decision: fix the truck or junk it. And I don't recommend the former."

So I am having another mechanic look at it to see if the cost of fixing it will outweigh the cost of simply getting something newer. I have no idea at this point.

What I do know, however, I learned some valuable lessons this past weekend.

For starters, there is a difference between overheated smoke from your truck and an actual fire. I learned that by calling 911 and saying, "Help my truck is on fire!!!" The NYC emergency 911 service responded by sending 6 fire trucks to my location (4 at one time, 2 more later on). They were furious when they discovered that I didn't know the different between white bellowing smoke and red hot fire.

I also learned what poison ivy looks like. Because my truck had no water left in the radiator (I thought that was my only problem), I had to hike through a dangerous park late at night to purchase a gallon of water. Surrounding many places that I had to crawl over was poison ivy. I now have it on me.

I also learned that even if you can get your truck started again after it's overheated, it isn't a good thing to drive. I drove it further before it stalled again. Later, when I finally got the truck back to NJ, I learned that because I continued to drive it, the heat of the engine melted some very important parts on my engine and may have made the problem 100% worse.

I learned that having AAA can be a lifesaver in tow-truck expenses. I learned this because I don't have AAA and have had to pay through my nose. I still have to have it towed again and it'll be very expensive again.

All and all, I doubt my life lessons are far from over. I still have to get a second opinion and I still have to determine what my future driving will look like. Please pray for me as I make important decisions as well as pray for those who will be helping me discern those decisions (e.g., the mechanics).