Out of Gas???

I went up to stay with mom this weekend. When I was driving up there Brenda called me and said that mom needs to have her pro-time checked before 2:00 because that is when they leave the office. So when I got there, I got mom all ready to go and we headed over to the hospital. I tried to park as close to the building as I could, but it was still a trek to get in there. When we were just about to the front doors, I could see that she was running out of steam. She started going slower and slower and her knees were bending more and more and I knew she was going down. I said lets stop for a minute and rest. I was looking around frantically for a wheel chair, praying that somehow I could get her inside the building where she could sit down. We stood there for a minute, then she said she was ok to walk again. We made it to the elevator doors and she started going down again. Just then I spotted a wheelchair around the corner. I couldn't let go of mother to go grab it so I asked this lady if she would get it for me. She was very nice and helped me get mom in the wheelchair. Mom was so funny though...for some reason, she just doesn't want to use the wheelchair! When the lady brought the wheelchair over, mom said " I don't need that...I am fine!" I was just like "oh yes you do need it!!!"
It was so much easier just wheeling her around rather than trying to help her shuffle along. I think she was even glad for it once she realized how much easier and faster we could get around in it.
We had a nice day together. I went over to town and picked up moms prescriptions, got her some groceries. Then I worked in the yard a little bit and did some watering. Later I made us a nice dinner. I had taken up some of the crookneck squash and tomato's from the garden. I cooked the squash in eggs like she had always done when we were growing up and she loved it. Ate the whole bowl of them.
Saturday morning, when I was trying to fix her hair, we both decided it was time for a cut and color. So I thought I would just run to Macey's and get her a hair color, and I could cut her hair after I put it on. When I got in the car, it was kind of hard to start, the gas gauge had been doing weird things again. It went down to low fuel but when it turned over, it went up to a quarter tank, so I headed down to macey's. Just as I was about to turn into the parking lot, it just stops going. I was pushing on the gas, and the engine was still running, it just wouldn't go. So I coasted to just inside the parking lot. Then it died. I tried to start it again, but it wouldn't go. So I got out, locked it up and started walking home.
Kelley had text me about 5:00 that morning to tell me that Blair had gotten his mission call to
Tokyo. Whaaaaaaat? I had had a pretty rough night and had just dozed off when my phone buzzed. Then he called and said he was going fishing with Dan. So anyway, I knew I wouldn't be able to get a hold of him. Couldn't call mom...what was she going to do? Brenda was down at the peach days in Brigham city. Leslie was up in the Tetons. Anyway, I was feeling pretty helpless.
I talked to Candice on the phone while I walked home and she was pretty comforting...she said she would come and get me if I needed her to, and I know she would have. I text Kelley hoping he might look at it as soon as he had service.
Kelley called pretty quick and we were trying to figure out what to do. We were both thinking it was the fuel pump again because that is what it acted like when it broke before. We started calling repair stations here in Logan but they were all closed! Hello it's Saturday! I called Brenda and asked her if she had any ideas. She mentioned there was a discount tire just about a block south of Macey's. So I called them and they were open! They said I would have to get the car over there though because they didn't have any way to tow it. GREAT! How was I going to get the car over there? Kelley said he would come up there and tow it over there. I really didn't want him to have to come all the way up there to tow the Yukon one block!
Mom said "why don't you call uncle Ken and see if he will help you" I hadn't even thought of him. So I called him and told him what a pickle I was in and he said " I will be right down." So he came down in his jeep and picked me up and we were on our way. It was kind of tricky getting over to discount tire because we had to get on the highway for just a little bit, then turn into their store, and it was really hard to turn without any power steering. But we made it . The guys there at discount tire were really nice and said they would take a look at it and give me a call. Uncle Ken took me back home and said for me to call him when the car was ready and he would take me back down.
So I cut moms hair (no hair color this time) and got it fixed nice. Jake Fuhrman had called and said he had some corn for mom...he was a good friend of daddy's and always shares his corn with mom every year. He gives her enough so she has plenty for all of us kids too. So we got in her car and went up to his house to get the corn. I didn't know where he lived but mom said it was just a couple of blocks east of Theurers store. So we drive up there and the store isn't there anymore! There is some fancy home elements store there now. Wow Providence has changed so much, I don't even recognize it anymore. It has filled up with businesses and subdivisions and the old places are pretty much gone. Even the old gas station on the corner has gone all high tech. The post office has been moved down the street to a nice new building. That was one of my favorite places in town. When ever I went on the milk route with daddy, we would stop there on the way home and pick up the mail. We had a cool little post office box that you opened with a combination. I loved the way it smelled in there and there was the nicest man that worked there named Mr. James. He was a tall skinny old man and he kind of scared me when I was little, but I got to know him and he would always wave at me and give me a some hard candy he had in his jar on the counter. We would get our mail and Grandma Braegger's and Pat and Clyde's mail too. Then we would go out to their place and give it to them. We would always find Grandma sitting in her chair watching "As the World turns" and crocheting pretty little edges on pillow cases. She would always have the T.V. turned up full blast too cause she couldn't hear good at all. She always had a big molasses cookie in her cookie jar for me. Grampa Braegger was pretty old when I was young so I didn't get to know him very well before he died. I remember when I went to their house though he would put me on his leg and give me a ride. Then he would rub his whiskers on my cheek. Kind of freaked me out at the time, but I loved him. I remember going to the hospital with my mom and dad when he was dying of prostate cancer. They wouldn't let me go in his room so I sat on a little stool outside his door. I can clearly remember hearing him crying out in pain though and feeling so sad for him.
The old elementary school that I went to has been torn down...well the cool old part with all the stairs and wood floors and bell in the tower is gone. They added on to that part when I was young, then remodeled the whole building when they tore down the old part. The old rock church there on main street has been about everything under the sun. It started out as just that; an old rock church house. Then they turned it into a fabric store. It has been a reception center, an office building and an old folks home. I'm not sure what it is right now. It's a cool old building though with a big winding staircase that comes down into the middle of the room. Anyway, we drove past what used to be theurers store and went a few blocks east and I was waiting for mom to say "there it is..." but she couldn't remember exactly where it was. She said she knew she would recognize it when we drove past. So we kept driving around and around till we had pretty much covered the east side of Providence. I suggested we go home and look his address in the phone book, so we did that and drove right to it...a house we had passed about 10 times. (Oh dear. mom's memory was really bad this visit. She kept talking about Virginia Barnett and said she wanted to get a hold of her to see if she would do her hair. Virginia and Oleen moved away about 35 years ago) Well I went up to the door but it didn't look like anyone was home and he didn't answer the door. So we went home and called him. He didn't answer and mom was pretty concerned about getting this corn, so I kept trying to reach him all day. I hope he will let her know next time he has some. We had a nice tour of providence though and mom told me stories about things she did when she was a young girl growing up there and showed me where her friends used to live.
When I got home the guy from discount tires called and said I could come pick up the car. I said "oh you fixed it already?" he said "ya it wasn't too hard." I asked him what was wrong with it and he said " well I hate to tell you this mame, but it was just out of gas," He reminded me of the Kirby guy on the best two years. He looked and talked just like him. I asked him how that could be because my gas gauge said I had a quarter tank. He said that when the people in salt lake had put in the new fuel pump, they had bent the sensor that tells how much gas you have, so it wont' tell you when your out of gas. I was so relieved! I knew that we could not afford to get another fuel pump put in and was really freaking out about it.
So I called Uncle Ken and he came right down and took me over there to pick up the car. It was pretty embarrassing explaining to him that it was just out of gas but he was real sweet about it. It was good to see him again. It has been years since I've talked to him. He reminds me so much of daddy. The sound of his voice, his mannerisms, even looking at him from the side, I can see a lot of daddy in him. But they have pretty different personalities. Uncle Ken was always really outgoing and liked speaking in front of people and being the center of attention . Daddy was not like that. He was a quiet and humble man and would rather do about anything than speak in front of people. He even skipped out on his own mission farewell so he wouldn't have to speak. He was always helping other people out though, just didn't want anyone to know or get any recognition or fuss over it.
Anyway, the guy that had worked on the car said I didn't have to pay him anything, just for the gas he had put in it. I gave him 20 dollars and wanted to kiss him.
Uncle Ken had mentioned when we were talking that he had gotten a letter that was from K.C. that should have gone to moms address, so he had taken it down to her. I asked mom about it and she said "oh yes I got the most wonderful letter from K.C.". She let me read it and I have to agree, it was the most wonderful letter. We both sat there and bawled while I read it out loud. All I can say is that he is a special young man and I am humbled to be his mom.
It was hard to say goodbye to mother this time. She really has a hard time getting around and I'm so afraid she is going to fall. I don't know how she makes it up the stairs without anyone there to help her. She moves so slow and can hardly lift her foot up to the next stair. She seemed so sad when I was leaving, it was just really hard. I am going to try to go up next week too.