Lucky Me.

The trip to the Bay was eventful, to say the least. After an early morning breakfast with my parents, I embarked on my journey north at around 9:45 AM. I made good time through LA and the Grapevine and was into the Central Valley sometime around 12:30 or 1 PM.

As I approached Buttonwillow, I was having some trouble accelerating and noticed the engine light was on and subsequently that my temperature gauge was at its max…I immediately moved into the slow lane. At this point, the car began to struggle and died. I was probably a few hundred yards from the next exit. Luckily, I was able to coast on the shoulder onto the offramp and into the gas station parking lot just off the highway. It was mere coincidence, I think, that I noticed the indicator light and temperature gauge when I did and happened to be so close to an exit…which for those of you who are familiar with the 5 through the Central Valley know they are few and far between.

So, with the car overheated and engine smoking, I called my dad. At this point, I was extremely frustrated and kind of freaking out…in the middle of the state and not sure how to deal with the problem. After discussing options with my dad, I called AAA (I’ve been a member for 43 years, perhaps a side story for another day) to try to get a tow to the nearest mechanic to get a diagnosis. Now, my level of membership with AAA only provided for 7 miles of towing and the AAA agent said the only mechanic listed in the area was 20 miles away…not good. The agent suggested that I ask the tow truck driver when he came if he knew of a closer repair shop. Ok, great.

Fast forward in the story, my dad decides that he would rather take care of any problem with the car back in OC, so he wants to tow it back home. He figures out that he can rent a tow bar or trailer for fairly cheap and decides he will drive up to get the car. He also tries to figure out how to get me a different car to continue my trip up to the Bay. I tell him that he shouldn’t worry about that, if I can’t make it to the Bay that day it was fine…I would just come home and figure something else out.

Enter the second coincidence. My older sister, who lives in Sacramento, happens to be in San Luis Obispo yesterday. San Luis Obispo is roughly on the same line of latitude as Buttonwillow/Bakersfield. What’s more, she happens to be going to San Francisco for a wedding directly from SLO. Even more coincidental is that she called my dad (for an unrelated reason) just as this crisis was unfolding. So, it was decided that my sister would drive east to Buttonwillow to pick me up and take me with her to SF. My dad and mom would get the trailer and drive to Buttonwillow to pick up the car and bring it back home.

Wow…so much luck. Beyond all the coincidences, and more importantly, I am struck (although not surprised) at the length my family is willing to go for me. For all my stupidity and consternation I must cause, they are (and always be) there for me when I really need them. I can’t ask for more than that.

I wrote an email to my family to express my gratitude and my mom responded with a nice description of what family means to us: “Part of being a parent/family is not deciding whether or not you will go to help each other, but rather how fast you can get there to help.”

What does all this have to do with 90 Days of Change? Well, on the one hand, it’s a pretty interesting story in its own right. On the other, I think it teaches me at least one valuable lesson: the importance of family, selflessness, and unconditional love. The generosity of my family is something I can only hope to repay and pay forward to the family in my future. So, these is yet another aspect of change I will begin to be more giving and selfless, because in the end, its all about family.