I baptized my triple A card

Well, I used my AAA card for the first time on Tuesday. The night before on my way back from the university I was listening to my radio when it suddenly turned off and then came back on again a split second later. This happend a few times, and it worried me a little, but the function of the car did not seem to be affected. The next morning however, as I was driving down the Highway 40/Interstate 64 at 60 m.p.h. the whole car shut down for a split second. The car would slow down and then jerk back to 60 m.p.h. Then my windshield wipers started going by themselves. So I turned around and went back to the Shaws house, praying all the way that I would make it.

Perplexed, I was still determined to make it to the university to make it to a library orientation. I figured that since I had driven several miles with the car in this condition already, I could make it to the Chesterfield mall so that I could catch a bus there, and then take the car back to the house when I returned from the university. As I was turning into the mall, however, my car just died, nothing electrical was working.

It died at a stop sign, so there were many cars going around mine. I got out of my car and was about to call Triple A when a policeman came to assist me. He said that we needed to get my car off of the road. So after trying to start the car a few more times, he suggested that he push my car with his car into a parking lot. He warned me that my bumper might get scratched up, but that was ok with me. So, he pushed me into a nearby parking lot, and told him that I would call AAA. He left, and I called.

A truck came within twenty minutes. The man seemed nice and willing to help. After I told him what happened, I opened the hood and he inspected the battery. I pulled on one of the cables connected to the positive terminal. It came right off. So he cleaned the wires and the electrode and securely attached the wires to a new battery clamp. He said that the old one was a  little misshapen. When he had finished I was able to start the car. The man said that my battery connections should be ok now.

I thought, though, that I should get the car checked by a mechanic, just in case there was something else wrong. The previous owner of the car (Jordan Chapell), who used to live in St. Louis had given me the number of his mechanic, so I called him to get directions. When I told him my name he said, “Seth Waldecker, son of Gary Waldecker?” Apparently he knew you, Dad, in seminary! He mentioned something about you being the captain of a soccer team, or something like that. His name is Jeff Dare, and he sends his greetings to you, Dad.

Anyway, the car did not give me any trouble on my way to Jeff Dare’s. When I got there, I told him what happened. He was surprised when I told him that the AAA guy put a new clamp on for free (and by the way, it turns out that his shop is a designated AAA shop). He said that the man must have been a nice guy.

He checked the wires connected to the negative electrode and noticed that they were a little loose, too; so he told one of the mechanics there to put a new clamp on and check for “draws”–something having to do with the electrical operation of the battery. They couldn’t find anything else wrong. I asked Jeff how much I owed, and he said “nothing.”

When my car first started acting up I was afraid I would have to pay a lot of money to fix it, but instead I got my wires cleaned and two new battery clamps for free!  Furthermore, now I know where to go when I have more car trouble. Also, it turns out that Jeff is the Shaw’s mechanic as well. Dr. Shaw said that he was Jeff’s first customer.

This was a somewhat scary experience, but it was also exhilirating. Throughout this experience I knew that God would take care of me, and I looked forward to how he would provide. I thanked God for it because he reminded me of His care for me. In the midst of trying to juggle all the new things coming at me, I think I was becoming increasingly anxious; but after this car experience, I felt better. Oh, and the library orientation was not terribly important because the library gives tours on a regular basis. Ah, God is so wonderful!