Farewell, Old Blue; Hello, Red Bandit

Oh, people.

PEOPLE.

This has been a week in Shafferland transportation. I thought you might enjoy the sheer craziness of it all, so here you go!

A few months ago, Ryan became concerned about the amount of miles piling up on his vehicle, which is our best one {and my saving grace on icy commutes}, so he bought back a car he used to own...just a little old Neon with a good chunk of miles, a bit of rust on the exterior, and fabulous gas mileage. He cleaned it all up and since December, he's been driving that back and forth to work and on random chore outings.

Last Thursday - a week ago this very fine day - he and I were traveling home, talking on the phone, and organizing the night ahead: mowing for him, house chores for me.

All of the sudden he said, "Uh oh."

I panicked {because duh, what else would I do?} and asked what was wrong.

Calmly, he said, "My car just died. I think it's the timing belt."

Now. Let's pause for just a minute here to think back to the day when my timing belt broke in the middle of the Fort Wayne Airport Expressway. I immediately burst into tears and had a full-on panic attack with loud cries of prayer. Ryan? He just calmly announced that his timing belt had broken, and he would need to hang up and pursue a solution.

{911 was not his solution.)

It actually was pretty amazing in a God-sort-of-way, because the belt broke AFTER he was driving through the city and the jams caused by fair traffic. It actually broke 1/4 mile from my parents' house, right in front of their friends' home. This house has a gated driveway, and the gate is NEVER open, but it was that day, and he was able to coast in and be safe off the heavily traveled highway. My dad was home and was able to hurry over to make sure all was well with the homeowner. I was so thankful for all these things, because I was on my way to meet a friend and couldn't get there to help him.

{Although, again, I'm of little help in these messes.}

Ryan's mom was on her way home from town and was able to come get him, and she took him to borrow their pickup truck and his uncle's trailer. Ryan's cousin happened to be at his aunt and uncle's house and was willing to drop his projects to go with Ryan to help him load the injured car up onto the trailer.

And Nita, bless her heart took pictures of the whole thing for me.

They hauled the car back through all the fair traffic and to the far side of Kokomo to drop it off at the car shop Ryan always goes to.

And it was closed.

Like permanently.

WHAT?!?!!?!?!?!!?!?!?

So....they hauled the car back through the city, back through the fair traffic, and unloaded it from the trailer.

In a long decision making process that makes for terrible blog fodder, Ryan decided not to fix it, but to sell it - hoping someone would want it for parts, maybe - and channel his focus toward something newer.

So he listed it online at midnight on Saturday. By 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, he had 4 inquiries, and by 4:30, he'd sold it.

WHAT!?!?! We can sell a dead car in less than 24 hours and not two perfectly good houses!??!?!!? Explain it to me.

And so it was that Tuesday night, Ryan and his brother loaded up the car onto the trailer, and he and his mom delivered it to its new home.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ryan had discovered a little truck online that he thought might be a good replacement for both Old Blue and the Asphyxiator. {You remember the Asphyxiator, right? It's his pickup truck that has lived an...intense...life.} So after he dropped off Old Blue, he went to check out the truck...and so it was that he became the proud owner of...

...Red Bandit.

As you may remember, last week he was kissing a pig. This week he's hugging a truck. Am I being replaced!?!?!?!!? :)

I am so, so happy for him. I know he's been juggling two REALLY OLD cars for a long time, and to be able to have something a little newer is a blessing.

And a sweet upgrade from...well...the Asphyxiator.

And for the record, the yard still isn't mowed. It turns out that running the Shafferland Transportation Company takes up ALL our spare time. HA!!! Maybe tonight. Thursday, take two! {And by two, I mean, of course, two yards.}