Something scraping I-85 under my car. I could hear it and feel it in the steering. A stick, I assumed when I pulled off at the next exit.
No stick. Something big and black, a part of the car hanging down to the road. The black plastic that houses whatever sits at the front under the engine.
Sunday morning and 30 miles into a 300 mile trip. I had to fix it right then and there. So I duct taped it back in place and drove to the beach. Worked like a charm. I didn’t give it another thought until I was in the shower two days later. That’s when I noticed the towel.
To back up, Janet Smith, a long time friend now living in Opelika, volunteered to be my PR agent through lower Alabama, mainly because she’s either related to most of the people there and good friends with the rest. She mapped out a route that began with a reunion of her girlhood friends in Geneva in the eastern corner of the state and proceeded across to Orange Beach, Fairhope, and Mobile in the west. All lovely southern ladies, gracious hostesses, lovely homes, all new to me.
As was the Dry Clean Only towel at the home in Fairhope. Now what do you do with a towel that requires dry cleaning? Can it get wet? I wondered as I stood dripping in the shower, thinking about my duct taped car in the driveway.
At Orange Beach, I spoke to the Friends of the Library. Great meeting, several long time friends surprising me by coming, and a good attentive audience. President Pat White should be a publicist since she plastered the coast from Pensacola to Mobile with news announcements and press coverage.
Afterwards invitations came from other groups in the area, so I’ll go back the first week of October to speak to a writers group, at a book store and to the Unitarian congregation in Fairhope.
The duct tape held until three days later, just before time to return home. By then the blazing summer heat, not to mention that of the pavement and the car’s engine and exhaust lines and who knows what else, all had made the tape turn loose. This time I looked for help.
I programed my GPS for the Honda dealership and it took me directly to Thompson Chevrolet, which turned out to be fortunate since they screwed the black piece back in place. Cost me $37 and about that many minutes. Probably far less than the Dry Clean Only towel cost.
