Daily Prompt: Murphy is My Co-Pilot

Hahahaha! Sorry. Today’s Daily Prompt cracked me up:

Murphy’s Law says, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Write about a time everything did — fiction encouraged here, too!

Bonus assignment: do you keep a notebook next to your bed? Good. Tomorrow morning, jot down the first thought you have upon waking, whether or not it’s coherent.

My story below is true, and could be called nothing but “Murphy is My Co-Pilot:”

When we moved to California, we brought our NJ vehicles with us: my husband’s 1997 GMC Suburban and my 2003 Mitsubishi Montero Sport; two wonderful 4×4′s. Things went well at first. I worked only 12 miles from home, so the expense of gasoline was a non-issue.

And then I took a new assignment at our primary campus location, which is 37 miles one-way from home. My poor Montero did well. For a while. His name was Tiny and he was getting tired; more and more things began to fail. I was watching the slow demise of a treasured friend.

Not really him, but my Tiny’s twin…Courtesy: classifieds.carweek.com

I had friends who worked at a used car dealer. I went there in hopes of giving Tiny to people who would take good care of him in his final days. I needed to get a new friend; one with better gas mileage, one who was a little less long-in-the-tooth. After a few moments, I met my new love:

This is not my actual new friend, but a twin…Courtesy: elkmountainaudi.com

His name is Claus. He is a 2009 Audi A4. And Murphy jumped in the second I drove off the lot.

I could regale you with tales of the trips back and forth to the dealership, the calls between my friends who were saddened by the issues I experienced (like the “check engine” light that wouldn’t go out, the needing to put a quart of oil in every week and a half, the herky-jerky pull-offs…), but I won’t.

Sidebar: I had dreamed of driving an Audi since I was barely tall enough to climb in a car. As a kid, I used to spend much time reading Car & Driver Magazine and was especially smitten with the Quattro. While Claus is not a Quattro, it is still a dream come true to have him in my life. I am grateful for many blessings.

Cue the heavenly angel music. I found a place at which to drop off Murphy:

The fabulous Service and Parts folks at Walter’s Audi, Riverside CA

I took Claus there and they performed an oil consumption test. Twice. I had some things repaired. I had to go back a couple times for follow-up issues; think of it this way–when you go to the doctor for yourself, they go with least invasive. Walter’s was like that. It took a few trips to this very service area pictured above, but Claus is running like a clock now. Claus leaves Murphy on the side of the road, hoping to thumb a ride…

We’ll have to see what pops up in the notebook tomorrow morning. Stay tuned, if you dare.

 

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