Tribute to Tara's Towing

When we were young and stupid, Tara and I used to tow vehicles all the time. This is because we had lots of semi-reliable cars and not a lot of cash. Common problem of young people, I suppose. Our record came in 1998 (or maybe '99, hard to remember) when we dragged a SAAB 900 all the way to Meyer Garage in north-central Iowa.

But of course we did most or all of this B.K. (before kids).

So it took a little more coaxing last night after the engine quit on our purple van to get Tara out there again. I was cruising on E.H. Drive at about 35 mph and the thing just lost power. I let it coast and ended not too far from old Berean, just a little north on 13th Ave, I think. Since I was only a few blocks from Grandpa's house, I hoofed it the rest of the way and got a ride home from him.

Then of course Tara and I had the discussion about what to do. She didn't really want to tow a van that night with four children. In fact, she made me call three tow companies, which I did. The cheapest was $69.55; the most expensive about $115.

So I offered to take her out for dinner later in the week with the money that we saved. Somehow that got through to her heart and we packed everyone up and headed to town.

I have to hand it to the girl. Once we got hooked up (yes, we have our own towing cable) Tara pulled out and the adventure began. When we tow, I always get the dead car and she gets the live one. This is because steering/braking the dead one is a bit trickier, and there's no heat in the dead vehicle typically. We towed through several traffic lights, curvy roads, and fairly steep grades. Except for losing me once after we were out of town (had to reattach the cable...) we really had no mishaps. I think we towed that old purple Caravan about 15 miles. As an experience it's a little tense, but it also comes with a good adrenaline rush. And I confess that my life isn't the most thrilling anyone's ever lived.

Something else interesting happened today (which I was going to blog) but I simply can't remember what it was. It's just gone.