{"id":139,"date":"2013-12-04T08:58:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T08:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html"},"modified":"2014-08-22T16:02:38","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T21:02:38","slug":"through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html","title":{"rendered":"Through Hell and Buffalo, Texas – an epic journey – Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I bravely fought the battle to stay awake before losing it to exhaustion somewhere around 3am. Someone tried my door around 1:30, and while I\u2019m assuming that it was the drunk cowboys who checked in next door, I\u2019ve never been so happy to have rearranged furniture in my life. That table and chair pile might not have stopped anyone, but it would have slowed them down.<\/p>\n

Saturday morning was even grayer than Friday had been. The persistent mist had given way to full-fledged rain. I woke up around 6:00 feeling hopeful that Saturday had to be better than Friday night. My husband was on his way with the alternator, and an internet friend (who turned out to be from the area!!!! Hi Kassie<\/a>!) had recommend a mechanic other than the inebriated Bill. I expected to be back on the road within a few hours, and finally in Houston around lunchtime.<\/p>\n

In my wave of cheerful optimism, I tweeted<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

Sure enough, my phone rang at 7:15. My husband was there. Could I please let him in? Yes, sir, I could!!!!<\/p>\n

\u00a0I dragged the table and chairs out of my path, flung the door open, and wrapped my grateful arms around him! I was so relieved to no longer be alone. In less than 10 minutes, I was dressed, packed, and my stuff was loaded back into the car. I called the mechanic who said he was waiting for me with \u201ca bay open and tools at the ready!\u201d (I love Texas men!)<\/p>\n

I climbed up into the Yukon and followed my husband in the Lexus five miles further out into the countryside to the garage. Sure enough, there was the mechanic, John, standing in the bay\u2019s doorway with his mama standing next to him.<\/p>\n

While he looked over the car, his mama hugged me and called me \u201cyou poor thing.\u201d It was kinda nice to be loved on a little. John gave the car a once over and tested our alternator. He scratched his head, reconnected the tester, and then shook his head again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d he said, \u201cbut your alternator is working just fine.Sometimes they will come and go as they\u2019re dying, but this one isn\u2019t even doing that. It\u2019s working like it\u2019s supposed to. I\u2019ll call the guy at the Napa place and tell him that he needs to check his tester. I think it\u2019s his tester that\u2019s broken and not your alternator. I can still put in the new one if that\u2019d make you feel better, but I don\u2019t see any need to. I\u2019m going to bet that it was the broken battery connection that set off your light and nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at the still-boxed up new alternator that had cost us $300, and then at my husband. \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d I asked him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we don\u2019t replace something that\u2019s not broken.\u201d He answered. \u201cLet\u2019s put the alternator in your trunk in case you need it, and then get you on your way. We can return it when you get home.\u201d With that, he kissed me, handed me back the keys, and told me to have fun with the remains of my weekend. <\/p>\n

At 9 am, I was back on the road. My radio was cranked up loud and I was feeling fine. I was cruising along at a good clip for just shy of an hour when, just as I got to Huntsville, the battery light came back on.<\/p>\n

I cussed a blue streak right then. I\u2019m not gonna lie about that.<\/p>\n

I was grateful to be near a good sized town, but I knew that it was still Saturday and most garages were closed or would close at noon. I stopped in the Target parking lot right off the highway and googled Firestone Huntsville. I knew they\u2019d be open if there was one, and there was! A quick five mile detour and I was at yet another mechanic. Luckily, I already had the alternator.<\/p>\n

I walked into the store and tried to be upbeat. \u201cWill you install an alternator for me?\u201d I asked. I gave him the Cliff\u2019s Notes version of my story ending with \u201cI\u2019m feeling a little like Gilligan at this moment. This was supposed to be a three hour tour and here I am on day two. Can you help me off this stinking island please?\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughed at me and told me he admired my spunk. Then he said the dreaded, \u201cI can\u2019t put that alternator in. Firestone won\u2019t let me install any part that doesn\u2019t come from our supplier. I can get you one by Monday morning, but not before. There\u2019s not much call for Lexus parts out here.\u201d He did offer to hook my car up to the tester to verify that it really was the alternator after all, so I let him.<\/p>\n

After a few minutes me told me \u201cHere\u2019s the deal \u2013 Lexus cars are persnickety. They like their numbers to be exactly right. Your battery is full at 12, and your alternator is charging it at 13.8-13.9. You car wants it to be at 14.0 so your light is coming on. You have plenty of charge to get to Houston and back home again, and then I\u2019d take it to your mechanic there.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stood there uncertainly until he finished with, \u201cIf you were my wife, I\u2019d kiss you good-bye and tell you to have fun with your girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reassured, I left the parking lot. Still, there was a niggling doubt somewhere deep down. As I drove back towards the highway, I saw another garage and pulled in to get a second opinion. He said almost exactly what the Firestone man had said, ending with \u201cIf you were my wife, I\u2019d tell you to go and I wouldn\u2019t worry about you at all. Have a good weekend and get it looked after once you\u2019re home.\u201d<\/p>\n

That settled it. I was going. These experts would trust their wives in my car, so I confidently turned my car towards Houston once again.<\/p>\n

One thing I\u2019ve learned from all of this? If a man says that if you were his wife that he\u2019d let you go, perhaps you should make sure he likes his wife. These two men clearly didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I bravely fought the battle to stay awake before losing it to exhaustion somewhere around 3am. Someone tried my door around 1:30, and while I\u2019m assuming that it was the drunk cowboys who checked in next door, I\u2019ve never been so happy to have rearranged furniture in my life. That table and chair pile might […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1979,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThrough Hell and Buffalo, Texas - an epic journey - Part 4<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I bravely fought the battle to stay awake before losing it to exhaustion somewhere around 3am. Someone tried my door around 1:30, and while I'm assuming\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Through Hell and Buffalo, Texas - an epic journey - Part 4\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I bravely fought the battle to stay awake before losing it to exhaustion somewhere around 3am. Someone tried my door around 1:30, and while I'm assuming\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shoved to Them\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-04T08:58:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-08-22T21:02:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/files\/-KEYzRq7vjYc\/Up85cIlBI3I\/AAAAAAAACbI\/2w0VOSgcSmk\/s640\/tweet.PNG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rebecca Frech\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rebecca Frech\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html\",\"name\":\"Through Hell and Buffalo, Texas - an epic journey - Part 4\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-04T08:58:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-08-22T21:02:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/#\/schema\/person\/a480038559bb99863ca3ba86f368775d\"},\"description\":\"I bravely fought the battle to stay awake before losing it to exhaustion somewhere around 3am. Someone tried my door around 1:30, and while I'm assuming\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Through Hell and Buffalo, Texas – an epic journey – Part 4\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/\",\"name\":\"Shoved to Them\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/#\/schema\/person\/a480038559bb99863ca3ba86f368775d\",\"name\":\"Rebecca Frech\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/53a07a84a2f9a9ba08b14e744e53ae70?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/53a07a84a2f9a9ba08b14e744e53ae70?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rebecca Frech\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/author\/rfrech\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Through Hell and Buffalo, Texas - an epic journey - Part 4","description":"I bravely fought the battle to stay awake before losing it to exhaustion somewhere around 3am. Someone tried my door around 1:30, and while I'm assuming","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Through Hell and Buffalo, Texas - an epic journey - Part 4","og_description":"I bravely fought the battle to stay awake before losing it to exhaustion somewhere around 3am. Someone tried my door around 1:30, and while I'm assuming","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html","og_site_name":"Shoved to Them","article_published_time":"2013-12-04T08:58:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-08-22T21:02:38+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/files\/-KEYzRq7vjYc\/Up85cIlBI3I\/AAAAAAAACbI\/2w0VOSgcSmk\/s640\/tweet.PNG"}],"author":"Rebecca Frech","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rebecca Frech","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html","name":"Through Hell and Buffalo, Texas - an epic journey - Part 4","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-04T08:58:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-08-22T21:02:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/#\/schema\/person\/a480038559bb99863ca3ba86f368775d"},"description":"I bravely fought the battle to stay awake before losing it to exhaustion somewhere around 3am. Someone tried my door around 1:30, and while I'm assuming","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-4.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Through Hell and Buffalo, Texas – an epic journey – Part 4"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/","name":"Shoved to Them","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/#\/schema\/person\/a480038559bb99863ca3ba86f368775d","name":"Rebecca Frech","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/53a07a84a2f9a9ba08b14e744e53ae70?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/53a07a84a2f9a9ba08b14e744e53ae70?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rebecca Frech"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/author\/rfrech"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1979"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}