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Date: October 17, 2005
I woke up to the alarm at 5AM - turned it off- and fell back asleep.
Not good. (I am up most of the night - so I tend to be a mess.)
Woke up at about 8AM.
Dumb and stupid - I had wanted to leave Fremont at 6AM to head back for the 10th time (?) down to San Diego - 480 miles door to door. 8 1/2 to 14 1/2 hour drive depending on weather. Been running about 9-10 hours lately.
OK. This can work.
I get up - groggy - and stumble to the kitchen for decaf coffee. Like that helps.
I do not take note that I am not tripping over the cat. Ranger, recently groomed and pretty, has taken to running under my legs and nearly felling me. He likes to be ahead of me at all times. I like to boot him across the kitchen floor. (Gently of course.) Or, turn the other way and confuse him. Cat racing. His latest sport.
I do have the dog out. Her pretty pink bows and scarf lasted - oh - about 10 minutes.
I pack - like take clothes out of dryer and place in bag. Creative. I add a big, floppy, old flannel nightgown. I have no idea why.
Find my shoes.
Take a shower.
Take drugs - well - some of them. I am skimming on my pills - vitamins - Shouldn't do that. Must correct myself.
Grab coffee.
Channel 189 has decided to come in so I watch the second half of the Murder Room for the third time in 24 hours (COMCAST IS DOOMED - THEY CAN'T GET A SIGNAL INTO MY HOUSE ALL THE TIME, BLEAH.) (It has the new actor playing P D James' Dalglish - still can't get used to him) while I am doing all this packing and pet feeding.
I set bills where I will not forget to MAIL THEM. I am sending out about $30,000 - with no income.
This is a cute trick. Planned, but still cute.
It is sunny - which is good. Not too hot - not cold.
I have my two eggs in butter and feed the dog and cat.
I still haven't registered that the cat is not underfoot.
Somehow I hear the bongo drum beat that signals that the dog is back attacking the doors (which are now screen-less - all but 2 - and those are hanging on by a thread). This activity occurred right after John's fatal dose of Chemo - the animals KNEW.
I yell at the dog - who appears confused. She isn't hanging her head.
I am packing pills, bread, bananas, coffee and decide that Starbuck's is in order for the trip - since it is right across from the gas station.
I hear the bongo rhythm again (paws pounding on a door) and hunt for the door under attack. Call and scold dog - who is by now really disturbed.
I have still not realized that the cat is nowhere to be seen.
I am hunting to catch the dog at the particular door when it comes again.
It is the garage door. Huh? It is the damned cat!
Ranger had run in when I got the clothes out of the washer or sometime soon after - I had neglected to check that the door caught. And he been stuck in there all night.
He was PISSED. So was I. I will look for a mess later. He was always trying to get into John's room - from which he had been banned after the stem cell transplant (bacteria control).
I put out extra treats for the dog.
Then I called SBC - TOOK 30 MINUTES ON HOLD TIME - they wanted me to go to the website - which is difficult since the computer is in San Diego.
I disconnected 510-713-7868 - and proceeded to transfer DSL - and was changing the mailing address to Magnifica (yes - I am turning it on and HOLDING mail)
- and while they were checking that they had the right new address - they disconnected the line.
That is hysterical!
So I called Andy - as I pulled out (my contractor - who is helping move me out so his wife can sell the house) - said I was leaving - went for gas - Chevron in "unable to authorize" my VISA - I have to go inside - guess I need to call them again. They get so confused when I leave town.
I got a Latte with soy - grande - and took mail (remembered at the last moment) to the post office.
I took off for San Diego.
It was fast (70-80MPH --- well - maybe a little faster) - I miss Chuck - he drove with me last week - walkie-talkie and a radar detector - and I zoomed along nicely. I really do try to behave.
All was fine and I was making real good time until I got south of Bakersfield and near the Grapevine. The Grapevine is 6.1 miles of 0 - 4200 ft - or about a 50 degree incline uphill (turn off air conditioner and suffer or catch fire!!!!)
It had dark clouds over it.
I see lightning.
It is dark.
About 5 minutes into the mad race to maintain speed and dodge trucks, the rain hit. From gentle drizzle to mad high-pressure hose.
NOBODY SLOWED DOWN. Of course not. This is California.
By the time we had crested, we were hydroplaning. Of course - we didn't quite know that yet.
We all didn't realize this - concentrating on SEEING 10-20 feet in front of us - we could not even see the white lines - you follow brake lights and curse the idiot who has his lights off.
When someone hit the brakes and did a 360 spin out into the emergency lane (actually - several someones), we all tapped our brakes - ha ha ha!
I had ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL. I kind of drifted right at an angle like floating. I steered it back. Gently. I learned to drive on ice.
I hung onto the wheel and GENTLY steered back into the #2 lane then decided the #3 had no one in it and went back there - because the car ahead was slowing and I WAS NOT!!!
It is a sickening feeling - ice skating comes to mind. There is so much water on a road that has so much built-up oil that the tires have NO TRACTION. (Highway patrol was later whining on the TV that no one slowed down - and they had 155 accidents compared to a normal 10AM-2PM run of 77 accidents per day. LA is BIG.) If I had slowed down, I would have been run over.
I could sort-of guide the car back into a straight path.
We had - slowed down - to 50!
For all of five minutes.
Along the way - the bright child that I am (exhausted - it is now close to 3PM) - remembered that she was in a TOYOTA TRD TACOMA WITH A LOAD ON and hit the 4-wheel drive assist. Chuck had recently showed me how to use it.
I am not sure it did anything.
I went from lane 2 to 3 without any effort on my part when the wind blew.
We had heavy gusting rain - so loud it drowned out the radio.
PLUS we had water run-off off the hills. I was nervously watching that. (Turns out - I should have been.)
The #4 lane had a low guardrail and a BIG DROP.
I was trying to stay inland.
The truckers, however, were not to be slowed down - and they threw 10' waterfalls behind them - no shit. They BLIND YOU!
At one point - we cars all got into lane #1 so a truck could pass another using lane 3.
When he cut in front of me - I COULD NOT SEE even with wipers on HIGH SPEED.
Cars were tossing up waves so high that a car in the #1 lane going North blew water across two emergency lanes and onto a car in the #1 lane going south.
I did not turn quickly or hit the brakes fast. This is not normal rainfall. This is not a normal wet road.
The mud, stones and water runoff was getting deeper. (Reached 4 feet and the mudslide buried a car - about an hour later.) It was getting darker - except for the lightening and thunder. We also had a low cloud.
FINALLY the traffic cut back to 45-50. Because we were now heading DOWNHILL and the speed limit was reduced.
Visibility was down to 10 feet.
I had a death grip on the wheel. I was tapping myself and letting the engine slow me down.
Where in blazes was the highway patrol???? Why were they not out checking this ungodly mess?
I got off at Hughes Lake, Castiac (usual stop). (I understand traffic was backed up there after they closed the Grapevine.)
I was SHAKING all over so I had a 1/4 pounder from MacDonald's. (YUCK).
I went to Starbuck's (Andy - you did a bad thing - followed by Chuck's trip - when he went there too) and got another Chai.
Then I went to get gas - and the Mobil was CLOSED for work. A car was dead in the middle lane.
Union 76 was open - OK - ethenol it is.
I called Fabio - but got his machine.
If he had answered - I would have asked to hide in his garage for a few hours. (Someone said garage - hell with that - ask for a bed!) Actually, I would have crawled up in his lap and hid.
I kept driving down 5.
It was dark, and the rain cut in and out - and cars skidded and crashed.
LA does not like rain.
It was also 5PM as I left the city.
I note, as I listen to emergency alerts and the dire news about the Grapevine that I now have no bug splat on my windshield.
Normally, we have to stop every 100 miles or so and scrub off bug splat to be able to see.
The bugs along 5 seem to cluster over the freeway.
This is because they crop-dust everywhere but over the freeway.
The bugs are driven by their little maniacal bug minds to attack hurtling tons of metal/fiberglass balls driven by equally maniacal minds which seem to want to cover themselves in bug splat. (Occasionally these hurtling metal/fiberglass things hurl themselves off the freeway and end up crumpled on the side of the road. If it is providential, they do this all by themselves, with no provocation, terminating the life form within. Someone did this last week - straight road - high speed - fell asleep and terminated himself. This provides temporary landing areas for the maniacal bugs.)
My windshield is free of bug splat. It was like a high-pressure fire hose had hit my car. I actually feared for losing the window!
I had tried Fabio again - leaving a message - I am not sure he ever listens to messages. (Turns out - he was out in this himself - on a cell phone talking to someone - driving - when his wiper flew off his car. He had to stop and fix it. I guess he can curse quite colorfully. I haven't heard that. Like most big men, he rather restrains himself. Usually. I would have cursed too if I hadn't been hysterical.)
At this point, I was leaving LA, and they had a FLASH FLOOD warning for everywhere I had been. The LA river was FULL. Whitecaps.
Watch - some idiot will try swimming in it. It drains VERY FAST to the OCEAN!
They had also CLOSED the GRAPEVINE in BOTH DIRECTIONS. There was at least one car buried in a mudslide.
I drove 75-80 on dry pavement to San Diego - grabbing a UHF aerial from Radio Shack - which did NOT work on John's TV set - said "no signal" - I am suspecting the set). The set works on VHF only - and we have never run it with UHF - only cable and the Go Deck (DVD and VHS). DirectTV installs itself the 26th. Now if the furnace can be lit soon.
I also realized I was down here a DAY EARLY having lost track of dates.
The 52" TV set comes WEDNESDAY.
Remember that I said that CHUCK had come down last time????
Well, he took me shopping (with my VISA).
I am supposed to have a 64" TV (match your age) - he said to lie about my age.
It is HDTV and matte finish. He picked it out.
This is good that I am here early because there is more rain coming and the GRAPEVINE is a DISASTER!!!
The Grapevine is the MAJOR route between the central part of CA and the Valley (comes out North of Magic Mountain and the San Fernando Valley)
It is a major truck route.
It also eats cars.
It also is the only way home since 101 usually has a few mudslides of its own and no one in their right mind drives highway 1 North in bad weather!
Andy will feed the dog.
I am trying to calm down. I am shaking. Shocky. Cold. Exhausted. Thank God for the big, cuddly, soft flannel nightgown.
Where is a tall Italian when you need him?
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