Car Troubles

When I was a kid I really liked playing MASH with my friends. For those of you who aren't familiar with MASH it is a game of chance where you gamble with your future. This game decides who you marry, how many kids you have, what job you have, your car, your house, where you live, etc. The participant is allowed to choose two answers in each category and the other person adds a horrible choice that fate may choose for you. When it came to my future car, where other kids picked BMW's and Jaguars, I picked an old Saab or an old Volvo. Somehow the stars aligned and I got my dream car when I was sixteen...a 1989 Saab 900 SE. 

I loved that car with all of my heart…even though there was no air conditioning, the radio only worked when it wanted to, and it died about once every few months at the most inconvenient times (in fact, I started carrying a battery charger in my trunk so I could make sure I got to school and back every day). For as long as I can remember I think my Saab, while very beloved, was the most unreliable car my family has owned.

This morning Austin (pronounced owsteen) picked me up in an old Toyota truck. On our way to a rural community, Flor de las Piedras, we got a flat tire, so we turned around and went back to Nagarote to get the tire fixed. Thirty minutes and five dollars later we were on our way to Flor de las Piedras. To reach this community we drove through fields that had brown patches of grass indicating some sort of trail or pathway to the community. Unfortunately, this path was intercepted by a fence being built the same day, so we had to drive over some very rough terrain to get around it. When we finally reached the community the car died and we had another flat tire.

We eventually made it to a neighboring community, La Concha, with a truck full of children for another health day. The truck died three more times during the day and we drove all the way back to Nagarote on a flat tire.

I remember when my Saab died I got so frustrated I would cry and kick the car, which hurt me more than the car. It ruined my entire day when it started out with a portable battery charger and no radio. When we lived through even greater car troubles today I was amazed at the calm and content attitude with which Austin conducted himself. I mentioned to him that car troubles were frustrating and he agreed, but reminded me that when one car, or one way to do things doesn't work, there is always another way to go and that people are always willing to help you find an alternate path you just have to be willing to adapt to the situation. He said sometimes the alternate route will take you somewhere different and teach you something new.