In Need of a Tow

as you may or may not know, i am shadowing tow truck drivers for a project... practicing empathy, understanding their needs, etc. it turns out constantin, my tow truck driver, has been awesomely fun to shadow.

so. this morning, i sit in my car to go pick up martini, start the engine of my car, and of course, the gods of comedy prevent my gear shift from working. i am trapped in my car, trying desperately to drive to the AAA tow truck man.

i eventually give up, run out, and ask my roommate if i can borrow her car. i start the car (thank god i can drive stick.... my psychic dad TOLD me i might need it one day for an emergency!). i get out of stanford, and at the light, the car dies. I start it up again and two lights later, it dies again. i eventually get to the tow truck company, and alas, my keys are stuck in the car! Twenty minutes later, and after soliciting the advice of four people, I discover that old saabs require you to have the gear in REVERSE (not neutral!) in order to take the keys out. wow.

i shadow constantin, we retrieve a car from an underground parking lot, an old classic car that had been crushed by a tree branch, and a frenchwoman's land rover. i learn about his life, the $200,000 cafe he lost overnight, how it put him in the depths of despair, and allowed him to come out with a wife and a new career that he loves. as we come back to the office so he can drop me off, i joke, "i hope my car starts." "i'll stay and make sure it does," he says back. sure enough, the battery's dead (i still have no idea why), and i end up needing a jump start. i drive out of the lot, and two lights later, the engine dies again. i cross my fingers, and it starts up. four blocks later, it dies one more time. i start it up again, and will my way home.

i walk back to my apartment by my car, sitting motionless and in need of a tow.