Re: 76er how are you doing today

76er®

CU Medallion [65813]

TigerPulse: 100%

Posts: 33325

Joined: 12/3/03

Thanks for checking up on Moi'. This is Day 9(?) I think,

Dec 22, 2022, 4:15 PM

dealing with Covid and aftereffects. Thankfully, I and the rest of my family are now pretty much over it. Even No.1 son has gotten back to where he can keep food and water down, which was a problem until yesterday.

I hadn't been on the TNet yet today, because God has a weird sense of humor. I actually woke up this morning feeling almost back to normal. I gathered all my normal morning meds in my little cup, and after doing bathroom duties, sat down in my recliner preparing to take the meds. That's when I noticed the message light was blinking on my answering machine. An urgent message from a frantic family member, saying his Jeep Cherokee (2nd car) had a dead battery, and did not have any antifreeze in it, local autoparts stores all closed already for Christmas (!), HELP!

He is 79 years old, and he and his wife are facing memory issues. Turns out, he had left the message during the 10 minutes I was in the bathroom. Timing is everything in life, right? I assured him that autopart stores here in Orangeburg would be open today, and I would purchase a battery, some antifreeze, and bring those and whatever tools were required to effect the needed repairs.(He said the battery had been dead for a week, he had tried to crank it a week ago, and gave up.)

Now, since this is the first day that I have even felt half alive in almost two weeks, I had no illusions about my great strength, so I called up my best friend from our church, and got him to ride along and provide assistance as needed. This guy is the definition of a good friend. So, I got a DieHard from Advance, along with a couple gallons of antifreeze, and made the 45 minute trip to the home of my friend and relative by marriage. He and his wife have become hermits the last couple of years due to a deathly fear of Covid. That is how I knew he was desperate, and one reason I brought my non-Covid friend from church along. I told him, "Your main job is to get the keys to this Jeep, and act as liason so that he doesn't have to get close to me, so that he doesn't freak out."

Five minutes, we had the battery swapped, Cherokee running, and then shut it off to drain water and put in antifreeze. That is, until I took the radiator cap off, and the water was a DARK green, and oily enough feeling that I KNEW it had plenty of antifreeze in it. I asked why he thought it didn't have antifreeze in it, and he pointed to the small plastic tank and said it was empty earlier, and he only had water to put in it.......

That plastic tank was the windshield washer tank. His overflow tank for the radiator was normal level, also with antifreeze looking liquid in it. But, just to be sure, I told him that I was going to ride to Santee, about 15 miles away, and buy a ball float antifreeze tester, just to put everybody's mind at ease. My friend and I jumped in the truck, and I decided to make a run to the local autoparts store, just to check. Sure enough, since it was now near midday, they were open. Got the tester, and checked, the Cherokee had antifreeze good down to MINUS 45 F. I think we are good to go.

I ate the cost of everything, for a couple of reasons. One, they are family, even if by marriage. Two, when I married into the family, all my dental work (This man was already my dentist, friend, and golfing buddy) suddenly became free for the rest of my life, until he retired some twenty years later. So, I figure the back of that same free card had on it that he gets free mechanic work from me, if I can at all afford it, for the rest of HIS life. And, in this instance, I could. Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good day.

flag link

military_tech

thumb_down

thumb_up

76er how are you doing today

Thanks for checking up on Moi'. This is Day 9(?) I think,

Re: Thanks for checking up on Moi'. This is Day 9(?) I think,

TigerBoard POTD