Our challenging move to Nashville (and our first blog contest!!!)
We moved to our flat in Nashville, while we await our new baby. We are off of West End Ave, 1/2 mile from Vandy, behind Outback, if you want to visit us...
After all our moves, you would think that we would have all the kinks worked out. Not so. I feel pretty stupid for believing that this move would go smoothly. Check out our history:
July 1999: Moving all my possessions from Abilene, TX to Knoxville in Kevin Porter's Isuzu Trooper. Made it from Abilene to Ft. Worth when the thing died. After a tow job to Las Colinas, KP and a couple fraternity brothers performed some midnight surgery in the Candlewood Suites parking lot to get me on the road to meet my awaiting bride. The problem: the alternator. Thank God for 24 hr. AutoZones!
December 1999: I became We, and a Trooper full of stuff became a 15 foot budget truck, towing our car behind, as we moved to Abilene for me to finish school. All went well until we hit Ft. Worth. Then our eardrums were burst by the piercing oil alarm. Apparently, the truck dumped all five gallons of oil of diesel oil (all of which landed on our car). After refilling, we made it to Weatherford, and the alarm resumed. After spending the night, and spending the day waiting on a repair, the truck was determined irreparable, and a replacement truck was dispatched. Again, Kevin Porter, driving back from Dallas with his wife Rebekah, saved the day, as he helped me transfer everything from truck to truck. Budget paid for that move, and the $20 car wash.
July 2000: Moved into house on Sayles Blvd., in Abilene, using Kevin Porter’s truck to premove all our belongings, until we made our final move-in, which we made after a trip to Tennessee. We brought back lots of frozen goodies from Grandmother, and the top layer of our wedding cake to be consumed on August 7, our first anniversary. We drove into Abilene late at night to find a house with no A/C and no refrigerator. The delivery people forgot about us, and the AC quit. So we ate the cake on our front porch, a month early, and mourned the loss of the goodies, which could not match the Abilene heat in a house with no A/C. We promptly sweated off all weight gained through eating the entire top layer of a cake in one night. Have I mentioned that it is hot in Texas in July?
December 2000: After moving cross town to an apartment (Kevin Porter helped, of course), we expected speedy transfer of our phone service. It took five weeks. I spent hours outside on payphones in the West Texas winter wind, waiting for help from phone company people. Every time they asked if they could call me back. They just didn’t get it. Thankfully, the Public Utilities Commission yelled at the right people, and they became apologetic, and gave us free phone service for a while.
August 2001: While not technically a move, our return to Abilene after our summer in Africa felt like one. We stopped in Tennessee on our way back, stocked with goodies from Grandmother’s freezer. We got into Abilene at 2:00 am. We opened the door of our apartment and were greeted by an odd odor. And no lights. No power. It took no time to determine that the odor was emanating from the refrigerator. So we slept by an open window (August in Abilene is worse than July), and in the morning learned that an electrical storm… in June… must have thrown the breaker). Charity tried to clean the freezer. The maintenance man was called in, as there was some rotting stuff in the compressor issues to resolve. His actual words:
“WOOOEEE!!! That will gag the buzzards right off the gut wagon!!!!”
So he closed the freezer door, and hauled the whole thing off to the dump.
Incidentally, Kevin Porter was keeping an eye on the apartment while we were gone. He came during daylight, so he never had to try the lights. And being the honest man he is, he never was tempted to help himself to a drink from the fridge. And having been my college roommate, he thought the smell did not need to be investigated.
September 2001: Another 15 foot truck, this time to Vegas. Kevin Porter carried our 1970’s recliner down the stairs for us, and all was well until we stopped to pick up our tow dolly on our way out of Abilene. In a cost-saving move, we rented a budget truck from Dallas (only they have diesel, big gas savings!!!) and were going to use a U-Haul tow dolly (half the price of budget’s). U-Haul had no problem with this arrangement (they asked what it would be pulled behind, and I informed them it would be behind a 15 ft. Budget truck. No problem, they said. Until we hooked the thing up and loaded the car onto it. An overzealous manager, who had memorized corporate policies, came outside and informed us we had to offload the car, as their policy would not allow them to attach a u-haul trailer to the competition. I protested to everyone I could, and seriously considered committing my first felony, as I considered (no joke) stealing the trailer. Many other felonies also came to mind. Ultimately, my tirade inside the store stayed within legal limits. We had no choice but to caravan to Las Vegas. Charity drove the Honda, which would not have been so bad, except the A/C wasn’t working.
Did you know that the route from Abilene to Las Vegas crosses every desert in North America?
(side note: I should have known better than to rent from the Abilene U-haul. A few months earlier, I had helped a man move that rented from them. He was assured over and over again that he would receive a truck with automatic transmission. When he picked up the truck, they only had stick shifters. This would not have been so bad, except the man renting the truck did not have a right arm. And to add to this poor man’s misfortune: he woke up one morning to find his loaded moving truck gone. Stolen. The police investigated, and determined that U-haul had decided to pick up the truck a few days early without contacting anyone. DON”T RENT FROM U-HAUL!!!).
Also, the Budget truck starting leaking oil in New Mexico.
May 2004: Moving from Vegas to Tennessee. Charity and Josiah flew, and I drove a budget truck, with a budget car dolly behind. Budget even hooked our car to the trailer. Unfortunately, they left the car’s parking brake on (the tow dolly drags the back wheels of the towed car. In this case, it literally drags them). As I turned into our apartment complex, a couple miles from Budget Truck Rental, I caught a glimpse of our car in the mirror. Bizarre. Smoke coming from the car. And the truck is moving, and the car is moving, but the car wheels aren’t. Thankfully, if I needed to make a trip back to the truck place, I had two solid black lines to guide the way.
So that brings us to December, 2005, and our move from Grundy County to Nashville. And the contest of the day:
Who can guess what problem we ran into this time? If noone answers correctly, the most creative answer will win. And if noone answers at all, the prize will go to Kevin and Rebekah Porter, who were unable to bail us out, this time.
We moved to our flat in Nashville, while we await our new baby. We are off of West End Ave, 1/2 mile from Vandy, behind Outback, if you want to visit us...
After all our moves, you would think that we would have all the kinks worked out. Not so. I feel pretty stupid for believing that this move would go smoothly. Check out our history:
July 1999: Moving all my possessions from Abilene, TX to Knoxville in Kevin Porter's Isuzu Trooper. Made it from Abilene to Ft. Worth when the thing died. After a tow job to Las Colinas, KP and a couple fraternity brothers performed some midnight surgery in the Candlewood Suites parking lot to get me on the road to meet my awaiting bride. The problem: the alternator. Thank God for 24 hr. AutoZones!
December 1999: I became We, and a Trooper full of stuff became a 15 foot budget truck, towing our car behind, as we moved to Abilene for me to finish school. All went well until we hit Ft. Worth. Then our eardrums were burst by the piercing oil alarm. Apparently, the truck dumped all five gallons of oil of diesel oil (all of which landed on our car). After refilling, we made it to Weatherford, and the alarm resumed. After spending the night, and spending the day waiting on a repair, the truck was determined irreparable, and a replacement truck was dispatched. Again, Kevin Porter, driving back from Dallas with his wife Rebekah, saved the day, as he helped me transfer everything from truck to truck. Budget paid for that move, and the $20 car wash.
July 2000: Moved into house on Sayles Blvd., in Abilene, using Kevin Porter’s truck to premove all our belongings, until we made our final move-in, which we made after a trip to Tennessee. We brought back lots of frozen goodies from Grandmother, and the top layer of our wedding cake to be consumed on August 7, our first anniversary. We drove into Abilene late at night to find a house with no A/C and no refrigerator. The delivery people forgot about us, and the AC quit. So we ate the cake on our front porch, a month early, and mourned the loss of the goodies, which could not match the Abilene heat in a house with no A/C. We promptly sweated off all weight gained through eating the entire top layer of a cake in one night. Have I mentioned that it is hot in Texas in July?
December 2000: After moving cross town to an apartment (Kevin Porter helped, of course), we expected speedy transfer of our phone service. It took five weeks. I spent hours outside on payphones in the West Texas winter wind, waiting for help from phone company people. Every time they asked if they could call me back. They just didn’t get it. Thankfully, the Public Utilities Commission yelled at the right people, and they became apologetic, and gave us free phone service for a while.
August 2001: While not technically a move, our return to Abilene after our summer in Africa felt like one. We stopped in Tennessee on our way back, stocked with goodies from Grandmother’s freezer. We got into Abilene at 2:00 am. We opened the door of our apartment and were greeted by an odd odor. And no lights. No power. It took no time to determine that the odor was emanating from the refrigerator. So we slept by an open window (August in Abilene is worse than July), and in the morning learned that an electrical storm… in June… must have thrown the breaker). Charity tried to clean the freezer. The maintenance man was called in, as there was some rotting stuff in the compressor issues to resolve. His actual words:
“WOOOEEE!!! That will gag the buzzards right off the gut wagon!!!!”
So he closed the freezer door, and hauled the whole thing off to the dump.
Incidentally, Kevin Porter was keeping an eye on the apartment while we were gone. He came during daylight, so he never had to try the lights. And being the honest man he is, he never was tempted to help himself to a drink from the fridge. And having been my college roommate, he thought the smell did not need to be investigated.
September 2001: Another 15 foot truck, this time to Vegas. Kevin Porter carried our 1970’s recliner down the stairs for us, and all was well until we stopped to pick up our tow dolly on our way out of Abilene. In a cost-saving move, we rented a budget truck from Dallas (only they have diesel, big gas savings!!!) and were going to use a U-Haul tow dolly (half the price of budget’s). U-Haul had no problem with this arrangement (they asked what it would be pulled behind, and I informed them it would be behind a 15 ft. Budget truck. No problem, they said. Until we hooked the thing up and loaded the car onto it. An overzealous manager, who had memorized corporate policies, came outside and informed us we had to offload the car, as their policy would not allow them to attach a u-haul trailer to the competition. I protested to everyone I could, and seriously considered committing my first felony, as I considered (no joke) stealing the trailer. Many other felonies also came to mind. Ultimately, my tirade inside the store stayed within legal limits. We had no choice but to caravan to Las Vegas. Charity drove the Honda, which would not have been so bad, except the A/C wasn’t working.
Did you know that the route from Abilene to Las Vegas crosses every desert in North America?
(side note: I should have known better than to rent from the Abilene U-haul. A few months earlier, I had helped a man move that rented from them. He was assured over and over again that he would receive a truck with automatic transmission. When he picked up the truck, they only had stick shifters. This would not have been so bad, except the man renting the truck did not have a right arm. And to add to this poor man’s misfortune: he woke up one morning to find his loaded moving truck gone. Stolen. The police investigated, and determined that U-haul had decided to pick up the truck a few days early without contacting anyone. DON”T RENT FROM U-HAUL!!!).
Also, the Budget truck starting leaking oil in New Mexico.
May 2004: Moving from Vegas to Tennessee. Charity and Josiah flew, and I drove a budget truck, with a budget car dolly behind. Budget even hooked our car to the trailer. Unfortunately, they left the car’s parking brake on (the tow dolly drags the back wheels of the towed car. In this case, it literally drags them). As I turned into our apartment complex, a couple miles from Budget Truck Rental, I caught a glimpse of our car in the mirror. Bizarre. Smoke coming from the car. And the truck is moving, and the car is moving, but the car wheels aren’t. Thankfully, if I needed to make a trip back to the truck place, I had two solid black lines to guide the way.
So that brings us to December, 2005, and our move from Grundy County to Nashville. And the contest of the day:
Who can guess what problem we ran into this time? If noone answers correctly, the most creative answer will win. And if noone answers at all, the prize will go to Kevin and Rebekah Porter, who were unable to bail us out, this time.
posted by Kevin at 9:27 AM
7 Comments:
Kev,
I love you,brother, but that phrase, "traveling mercies" does not apply to you!!!
You have always had bad road trip luck... Here are some memories I have to add to your collection:
-If I remember right, didn't you smash the front wheels off of my car? I remember something about a broken axle.....
-Severe leg cramps driving Quita to McKinney and clutching 5,256 times in stop and go traffic.
-I also recall you leaving your keys in the (locked)--was that the same trip as the curb smash?
But, for the record...we did NOT, I repeat, did NOT run out of gas in the middle of nowhere Arizona. The indicator was 2 inches below "E", and you promised me that we could not possibly run out of gas until the fuel light flashed.
(and yes, I was the one saying, "Do we even know that this old car HAS a fuel light?")
But we made it.
YOU WERE RIGHT!!!
My theory on what happened during your most recent move?
I would guess that the following things probably happened, judging by your history.
1) some type of stress involving the type of truck/trailer. ( I assume U-Haul is not involved because U-Haul STINKS.)
2) Some kind of oil problem caused a secondary problem of leakage (with the possiblity of a Tennessee sweatshirt being stained with oil. yuck.)
3)You packed some refreshments only to have them wrecked or melted or spoiled or something.
4)Utter frustration and annoyance on your part over some kind of mechanical or organizational error.
(I am assuming you did not commit a felony because I don't think they let you blog in jail.)
5) You didn't forget Josiah, right?
6) One thing I can say did NOT happen. You did not get lost, because you never get lost. If we were all like you, GPS would not be necessary.
7) I would also venture to say that upon arriving at your new apartment, some utility or some random problem occurred.
One more thing....you know these experiences are great training for the mission field, right?
love all 4 of ya.
Shannon
You put the key in the ignition. Turned it...
And the truck blew up sending you several hundred feet into the air and you were clipped by a crop duster (now you have no right arm!) and your entire life long accumilation of stuff was engulfed in flames. Charity and Josiah of course flew, leaving you to to deal with the 4th grade dropouts, err, I mean sales people of (pick any truck rental company)Cheap Crap Haul and explain that all you did was turn the key. This was rather difficult to reenact, due primarly to the loss of the right arm. They agree not to sue you and you leave without reimbursement for any of your charred belongingss or the loss of your right arm. You finally hitch hike (not being able switch out takes it's toll...) and make it to N-ville and are greeted with a, "you blew the truck up? did my grandma's doilies make it?" You attempt to wave your arms around as if to say "what about me?" (again, difficult at best with one less limb) and are met with the now infamous line, "I knew we should have called Kevin Porter to help!"
Just a guess...
When I was a kid, my family moved to Abilene. My brother, sister, and me ALL threw up in the car multiple times throughout the drive. The seats were covered in vomit. At first we were just sick (stomach bug or something). After a while, we were all purging simply because of the smell. (probably not unlike the freezer smell you wrote about)
Did your trip this time include explosive vomiting?
-wallace
hmmm. Does it involve animals?
As long as Charity is still feeling good, then it was a successful trip. I bet you hit a bump and her water broke!
gee guys..
i wouldn't even want to hazard a guess.. actually, the fact that you were able to post to your blog is reassuring.. but i guess when i find out the REAL story, i will get even more gray hair..
oh, yes, i remember the great honda tire blow out and we aren't referring to a tire sale!!! there was some discussion that went.."what will happend when shannon finds out" and the ever motherly, "kid, you are lucky to be alive.. forget the car!"
the move couldn't have been the worst disaster yet. i didn't get any messages on my cell phone that started with "OH MOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!"
can't wait to hear who wins the prize.. and still waiting on grandbaby.
mom...
Well - second try after my misplaced email.
It surely can only be that you burned whatever it was to the ground. Ha!
Oneal
no correct answers yet...
though we do have some that are remarkably close.
but let me assure you that no vomit was involved. That will be on the move to Africa.
And Charity's water didn't break. This was my great fear when she was pregnant with Josiah, though, as I was driving a company car, and I didn't know their policy about that kind of thing.
And it is pretty amazing that Joel can squeeze ten times the humor of my post into one tenth of the space. I wish he would blog about some of his moves!
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