Road doggin it

omg. i can't even get out of alabama without a road crisis.
Firstly, i somehow, i couldn't even get out of Birmingham. i have my AAA triptik all laid out, i thought i went over it and understood it, but somehow i missed the exit to go to memphis. i remember diggin in my McD's bag for that last mcnugget, and seeing a roadsign for "jrewkfjewoijr" MEMPHIS flash by, but fuck if i didn't catch what exit to take. i thought there SURELY must be another sign coming up to remind me to get the heck off, but no. 40 minutes later, i'm on my way to fucking Huntsville, AL. so i turn around and go BACK to B'ham, get my bearings and get on 78 West.

i think i'm doing well, that i'm on my way, that i'm gonna get me some good BBQ when i hit Memphis.
no.
i look at my temp, and its freaking almost up to the redline. granted, it IS 90 degrees out (why the FUCK is it still so freaking ass hot in alabama? it's the END of sept!! i thought they had seasons here!) so foock. foock foock. what to do. i try to call D, but i see something on my phone that i haven't seen in a long time. NO SERVICE. yes. i officially am in nowhere, somewhere between Mississippi and Alabama. So, here i am, my little car is about to overheat in 90 degree weather. i pull up to a gas station and there's a garage behind it. but when i talk to the dudes back there, they say that they only work on four-wheelers. dang, i SO am in rurual alabama. so they point me to a little tow truck / garage place down the street and i go in and ask if someone can look at my car. its freaking 4pm, i know if i need a part, they won't have it, and what the hell am i gonna do. whatever. i'll figure it out. i just can't freak out right now.

so the mechanic guy drives it around, and he comes back and says that my fan isn't working, and they don't have the parts to fix it. [i realllly try not to freak out right now. i think about turning around and going back to Auburn, fleetingly]
a little while later, he comes in, and tells me whats going on, and my eyes actually start to water a little bit. but then he says that he fixed it for now, that it's a sensor, and not like the fan is busted. he just doesn't have the means to fix that. He walks me out, and shows me that he rigged my battery to my fan so that it's just always on. and that all i have to do is unplug the wire from the battery when i turn the car off, so that i don't drain the battery. ok. that will get me to memphis.awesome.

the awesomer part is, that he ended up being the nicest guy about it all. he apologized for not having the means to really fix my car, but he definitely did what he could do. he didn't treat me like a stupid girl, he straight up explained what he did to the car and what i need to do with it. he knew i was from NOLA, asked how i was doing, if i lost anything and how my family was, where i was going and what i was gonna do...then he wished me the best of luck, didn't charge me, and gave me a HUG. and it was really sincere, not wierd or creepy. how awesome, this weathered, southern mechanic really showed concern and well wishes for me. so, Don, in Guin, or Winnfield (i was in one of the two places, and incedentally, inbetween Guin and Winnfield, there is a place called Gu-Win. yup) at the auto shop. thank you kindly, i'll never forget it.

so, if you want an idea of where i was, here's the google map link

So i eventually made it to memphis, too late for me to get any BBQ, but i'll be rollin out tomorrow to go directly to Dallas. there, i'll get the car fixed and it will give me more time to party with my girls there.

Getting thru this first little crisis has just bolstered my confidence in being able to get through this road trip. i can handle my shit. i won't freak out. i'll hold it down and get through it.

till next time. hopefully in Dallas. Unscathed.
xo y'all!!