www.cancermonster.net

I am so tired. Sometimes you get so tired that your brain won’t register the simplest things. Like . . . where you are and what time it is there.Let me think. . . Oh, yes. Las Cruces, New Mexico. And I bet you want to know what is going on here in good old Las Cruces. . .

We stayed the night at the RV park. It was very nice. The clubhouse was like a hotel. And we ate complimentary continental breakfast before we pulled away to find the mechanic that God had set up for us.

It took several tries. The first place was sympathetic to our cause, but was way too busy to even look at the motorhome today. They suggested that we try a muffler shop down the road. They would be able to work on it right away. If it were a simple muffler donut gasket, they could handle it. Ok. That might work. We found the recommended shop not far down the road. They put the Clyde (we named the Motorhome CLyde) up on a lift (That looked funny! I didn’t have my camera!)

Right away they saw that the left side muffler (not the one we replaced in Lincoln City) was blown apart like an open can of sardines! (That’s how Dan described it to me.) That’s what was making the super loud noise. The gaskets . . . They wouldn’t do anything about. But they did weld on a shiny new muffler for $89. And then we were driving away. (As apposed to “Driving On”) The engine was less loud, but still sucking air.

The next shop produced a recommendation for the final shop. We had passed this shop earlier. It was next to the Walmart. There were semi-trucks out front, but we could see RV’s in the bay. It was a big place. Professional.
We gave the first lady we saw the story and she looked me over to see if she believed it. She must have, because she picked up the phone and called the shop manager. While we waited for him, I was praying, “Oh, Lord? Please touch his heart, Lord. Make him want to help us . . .”

He came in the room like he owned the place. He kind of reminded me of Donny Osmond for some reason. Lol He listened. And I could see that he was thinking deeply. I should say that there were ten or twelve bays in that shop. Every bay was filled with a patient. Some big trucks, several big motorhomes. I saw a city bus. . . The front lot was filled and the back lot was filled. There were school busses parked along the side of the building. It was a busy place.

He was thinking.

“I better get back to the motorhome. We have three little kids in there.” I left the men to think.

And I called Anita to update her.

“You know you will have to fly now.”

“I know. I just want to stay with with Dan as long as I can. It will be hard for him to manage the kids on his own.”

While I was on the phone with Anita, the Mr. Osmond-look-alike came out with another fella and asked me “Which side?”

“Ah. . . Which side? I . . .ah . . . I . . . Have no idea. My husband is still inside, let me call him out here.”

I don’t enjoy being ignorant. Yes, I am ignorant when it comes to most engine things. I have been married for a long time. My husband has no idea what the difference between “dice” and “chop”. You don’t see me laughing at him! (lol Just chuckling once in a while . . .)

What side? THE WHOLE DERN THING IS LOUDER THAN A FREIGHT TRAIN FELLA!

“Oh, here’s my husband now . . .” wheew.

I hung around listening, trying to figure out what the manager was going to say. A woman that was inside when we were telling our story came up to me in the parking lot. She said she was trying to dig up all the American money she had. (I believe she was Canadian)

“It’s not much. Just $14,00. I wish it was more.”
“Oh, no ma’am. Thank you, but . . .”
“Take the kids for Ice Cream. Please.”
“Thank you.”

She hugged me.

I looked up at my husband in the drivers seat. He was watching. His eyes were red too. This is hard for us. So hard. So humbling. We have never been in this situation before.

The manager interrupted our silent conversation. The engine was hot. Too hot to work on for a couple hours. If it turns out to be the gasket, it would take a couple hours. But the manifold might be cracked. In that case, they would have to get the part in and it would be a little longer. He pointed us to a hotel on the opposite side of Walmart. Within walking distance of the shop.

Dan drove the kids and me to the hotel. We gathered up clothes and crayons and bathing suits. Snacks and Sodas. And checked in. It was just after noon. Dan then drove the motorhome back to the repair shop and left it. He walked through the Walmart and bought a cheep Styrofoam cooler for the sodas and came back to the Hotel. He wanted us to walk back over to the McDonald’s for lunch. I was too tired. He took the kids and I took a nap. I took a nap with one eye and watched my soaps with the other. Hey! I haven’t seen them in a week!

When the family came back, they wanted to go for a swim. I wanted to continue my nap/soaps. As Dan was getting ready to take the kids to the pool, the repair shop called. The manifold was indeed cracked. The part was coming from Albuquerque. They would start on it first thing in the morning and it should be done by noon.

“Due to your circumstances, we are going to do you the best we can. We can replace the manifold for $425. That’s a good deal.”

That’s great. We have to thank them for that. Even so, It’s more that we currently have . . . for gas to get to Florida. Lol We have until noon tomorrow. . .to sell a kid or two.

And for tonight, we have a hotel with a view of a pool. And cable TV. And air conditioning. And we have faith.

Matthew 17:20 says, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

As I napped in the room, Dan played with the kids in the pool. He needed the down time more than he admitted it. I peeked out the window and saw him giving the kids rides on his back. They were ALL smiling. It was a good thing.

Tomorrow, we will Drive on.

As it turns out, my appointment with the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa is Wednesday, not Friday. Lol Anita called them to see if it would be possible to move the appointment and found out that we had the day wrong. Couldn’t make Wednesday. They are changing the day to the beginning of next week. What a relief off our minds. Not that we can afford to post pone it any farther.

The altitude is weighing on my lungs. I am short of breath up here at 4,000 ft. And I am so tired. I think I will finish my nap now. This time with both eyes.

Until tomorrow then . . .

Mwaaack