so we drove and floated last night. so much for boredom..

this is the story of how jen and i floated in her car last night, and how we got in that situation in the first place. (sadly, to admit, it had a little to do with boredom. and she was lit and i was devastatingly sober.)

***

as i'm sure many of our texas and louisiana friends could most likely immediately attest, there are rains and stormfronts in the south. central arkansas received eight inches last night alone. and some people are just really dumb..

i called jen from work about eight oclock. she was sooo bored. so i left early, to come home and play. left at eight thirty, got home at nine. i work five miles from home. going home, i plowed through two and a half foot high flooding in many parts of the two main roads i took. (i have an aveo sedan, a very not utility vehicle.) i saw people doing just stupid shit. like, stopping halfway through a high-water area. so, there were several cars stalled out in the middle of the road. (fun, more obstacles to run around.) saw a car take a right hand turn on a red--right in front of me--and go two full lanes over and across to the other side of the median. he was going the wrong way up a hill in feet of water through torrential rain. at night. and because he pulled out in front of me, i had to stop and back up in order to get enough momentum built to make it through that pond. at night, on one of the busiest roads in little rock.

right about here:
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&q...

at evergreen and university

anyrate, finally made it almost home and my car started dying. i knew it was most likely due to water getting into my exhaust because people stop suddenly for some reason halfway through water that is above their tires, but the car had been on "e" with the evil orange light showing most of the ride home, and i did mostly keep the car in second gear for better torque and response. by chance, almost home i was able to coast into a gas station i happen to favor and pulled into a stall and my car died. i filled it, my hands shaking a little from the drive. i started the car, it started right up. turned it around, to get back the way i came because that road was the path of least resistance to my home. and the car started dying. i turned away from the road and started it several more times. called onstar, to get a diagnostic done on my engine, to see what the problem could be. they ran the diagnostic and said they could detect nothing, but that i should definitely take it into the dealership tomorrow. (yeah, thanks, onstar. im definitely gonna keep up with the service after my year is up.) i told them i'd call them back if i will want roadside assistance, that i wanted to play with it a bit more. started it, a few more times. revving the engine did nothing, so i just did circles for a few minutes in the empty parking lot next to the gas station. it still sputtered a little bit, but i was able to make it the half mile home.

came in the house. wet head, wet arms, wet shoulders. a little freaked from the drive and the worry that our biggest investment next to the house may have extensive damage that would not be covered under warranty and that a five hundred dollar deductible was somewhere between now and when we hit the honeymoon on the 14th of november. my mind weighed heavy. jen was excited, as she always gets during heavy rain. (she's from new orleans and misses [for some damned reason] crazy weather.) i was finally home she wanted to go to boyle park to see the water rushing, to see how absolutely crazy it must be. i told her about my drive home and said No outright. but she had it in her heart; it was right down the street, no big deal. we took her car because i didnt yet trust mine. her 01 l200 saturn sedan. in other words, also a very non utility vehicle. a few roads, no big deal. then we got to a dark area and we were driving and a cop was ahead in the distance with a floodlight pointed in our direction, and he was close to the boyle park entrance. i stopped the car, to turn around. a small two lane road, but no other cars near us. she really wanted to keep going, this was exciting. she figured the cop was just stopping people from entering the park, because that park is known for flooding, but we could just drive past and take that left and head back home. she said please. so we kept going. and there was a little bit of water and everything went dark because out headlights went out. the truth is, they were under water. and i almost floored it but we started to float. so i had to stop the car so that we could settle to the floor, and the car died. so there we were, the two of us, our two puppies, in a saturn, retarded, dead in the water. it was still raining quite a bit and we werent going anywhere. i certainly hoped no one was getting robbed or assaulted at the time because the police werent getting through to. i called twice. the first time, i let it ring about for minutes. thirty, fifty times. the second call, i let it ring forever, until it terminated the phonecall. jen was freaking out a little bit because the water was moving quite fast. we were on a kind of bridge. to the right of us is a walkway ten feet below the road with drainholes. the drainholes were the approx. size of a man and not able to compete with the mountain-ish size land directly to our left stretching way up. i commented that at least we got to float. i kept her calm, and we even warded off other drivers that were headed that way with the flashlight that i make her keep in her glovebox and the horn under my palm.

after forty minutes, the rain relented a little and we were due for another stormfront in another hour. the water went down half a foot or so and and i turned the power back on and found that our headlights were above the water again. if we didnt get out of there, we werent going to until morning. it was about ten pm. i had no choice but to try. i started the car, several times trying to rev it enough to make it through the fucking river we were in. after maybe a dozen tries, i was able to get it revving and i punched to the "d" position and kept it steady and slow and made it through. we went straight home. up to the left, straight to the left and on down. i started both cars several times throughout the night. they both idle like they are in top health. it could have gone either way and i am relieved to save the money. and jen has resolved that boredom is always better than tragedy.

what a stupid night