I would have had them started many years ago if I had had my own place many years ago but it's never to late to start... right? So my goal for today will be to get them planted... I'm writing this on Thursday hoping to plant them on Friday when you read this post... That is my goal.
Now back track to the near fatal car crash.... Wed. is HD golf and guy day (that is if he can't hay or work in the field), so I went to town to pay the bills and since it had rained I pretty much had the day to kill also. So off to Pierre I went to "Millionaire Menards" , for more paint, house and ranch supplies and to spend my whopping 11% off everything rebate check... LOL!
After leaving the store I detected a wa, wa, wa sound coming from my front drivers side tire.... I always panic when I hear sounds like this weather it's on the tractors, baler, cutter, trucks, combine, feed wagon and on and on..... so at the first gas station I pulled in and checked all 4 wheels and tires and looked for something rubbing..... Nothing!, Checked it see if anything was hot, nothing! Felt for a pimple or bubble on a side wall, (these are new tires like 3 weeks new)... Nothing! Called DH and gave him my assessment of the wa, wa, wa sound.... "it goes off when I give it gas, it goes off faster when I give it more gas, it doesn't go off when I step on the breaks and it is quiet when the wheel is turned to the right but wa, wa's when I turn to the left"... "Drive careful and check it again at the I90 on ramp" was his reply. "Roger that" I said, and off I went in a panic to get home...
I have only been stranded in Pierre one time in my life and I NEVER want that to happen again... At the I90 check point all is the same, no difference, reporting in, "Ok check it when you get off I90 and head south call me then"," Roger that"!
Off I go for Presho, thinking I really should call my tire guy and run this all past him. Since it's about 99 degrees and the humidity is like 300% and being broke down today on I90 with all the bikers heading to Sturgis is not where I want to be... So I called and ran the diagnosis past him and got the same reply take it easy if the sound changes stop and call... "We will wait here till you get here and check it out for you"....
Now if you don't know this on MOST of SD I90 you can drive 80 MPH now instead of 75 mph (like 5 mph really matters)... So after ? many miles to my turn off, I got off the exit and did my check over to find once again no change...."Checking in", "drive careful and let me know if there is any change".... I ask, "are you sure this will not start on fire or something?" "No it shouldn't", came the reply, the same thing my tire guys said when I asked this same question... "Roger that" and away I went!
I have to tell you that from the very first wa.,wa, wa at Millionaire Menards I started talking to my Heavenly Father. Like usual I asked for his angles to stay on all 4 corners of my auto and to keeps those I meet on the roads today safe as well... This is my usual request before the key is turned but I realized I had forgotten it when I left the ranch... I should have known better than that...
On the road again headed South, not far now to the connecting hwy, then to the tire shop .... no change, no different ride or sounds, no additional worries at this point.... Finally got to the junction and made a complete stop at the corner and turned left to make the last few miles into town.... this.......... is when it happened.... All of a sudden the wa, wa, wa sound changed. It now was a deep growling, angry sound with violent jerking movements on the steering wheel and shacking movements through out the whole vehicle... I could hardly hold on to the steering wheel. I touched my phone and told it to dial DH.... no answer.... ok, well then dial the tire shop.... busy signal.... Ok, I told myself, just don't panic, drive slow, keep an eye out for all the other traffic, turn on the hazards, and baby this old girl into town.. a quick time check told me it was almost 5:30, the tire shop should be closed by now....9 more miles..... I only have 9 more miles.... Father just help me to get there safely... Finally, I made it. I waited for the on coming traffic to pass, I turned into the parking lot... such growling and grinding sounds I heard. I felt the pain my poor car was going through.... She hasn't made it to her 300,000 miles mark yet. She just has to make it.... She is only 40,000 miles away from her special birthday....
I put her in park and left her run, no steam from under the hood, no smell of hot rubber or burning oil. I know all these smells and then some. It gets that way out here on the ranch, the difference is there is usually no one around to smell them with you....and they usually are followed with a walk to the highest hill or a climb to the top of the tractor cab for cell signal..."And the dreaded HELP call!"
My tire guy came out the door as I was inspecting my front drivers tire and wheel, he knelt down grabbed a hold of the top of my tire and shook it back and forth.... yep, there it was... WAY too much play in that shake. That's when I was once again reconfirmed my Father is amazing and His love for me is super great! Tire guy reached for the tire lug nuts and 3 of them fell off in his hand... He looked at me and said your going to need a ride home, we'll be lucky to get this in the shop before the tire falls off...I cant believe you made here from Pierre. I was thinking about driving 80 MPH and my front drivers wheel coming off on the Interstate Hwy...
And so it is in the life of a ranch lady, with a protective Heavenly Father. DH was on the last 2 holes and would be right down to pick me up. The car would be fixed in the morning and life goes on... My old girl will live to see another day and when she hits her next big birthday I will celebrate as she will be my 3rd car I have babied to 300,000 miles... How many people can say that these days? With everyone needing the newest, the latest, the greatest... Not me....
I've thought about that drive many times since and keep coming back to the same thing, what if I had wrecked and hit someone else... I know it would not matter if I get killed because I know I won't be leaving home, I'll be going home but what about the others would they be going home also?
BB
