Electrocution

The front of the "red car."

While I was pregnant with T Jay, I was the manager of the base pools. We had a maintenance problem that closed the pool for about three months, so the base pawned us off to different agencies around the base so that we could keep our jobs. I landed at the base library. I loved working there, especially since I was pregnant with T Jay. They had a/c !!

These two pictures are the only proof that we owned this red car, an old Chevy Cavalier. It was given to us for $1 by some friends moving to Germany. I guess they figured it was easier to just give it away! Jess used this for his rainy day car. We lived about 2 miles from his work and it was easier and faster for him to ride his bike. I don't remember why, but I drove this car to work at the library. I left the windows down in the car while at work. It never rained in Del Rio, so I figured it was no big deal. I didn't think I was in any danger of having it stolen either. While I was in the library it began to pour rain, the kind that hurts if you happen to be out in it! I didn't remember leaving the windows down, so I thought nothing of it. After work, I went to head home with rain still pelting down. As I dashed to the car, I discovered that there was practically a pond where I was supposed to sit! I quickly solved this problem by throwing my metal Barbie lunch box (yes, I actually have one of those) onto the seat. Now, this car being old as it was, had many tricks to driving it. I remember trying to feed it enough gas to keep it running while trying to lean to the right to see out the window as the wipers weren't quite top notch. I wasn't surprised that they weren't up to the task since it rarely precipitates in the desert. So while expertly driving this machine home, I suddenly felt a shock coming from my seat. Immediately I knew I was being electrocuted by some crazy feature that had been dormant that now came to life due to the water. Now I'm driving home without actually sitting (I thought that avoiding contact between my backside and Barbie would help), I had my back against the seat back and my feet on the floor while trying to drive this tricky thing home. Now granted this was only about a two mile drive, if that, but when so much is going on it seems much longer! I got home and was telling Jess that there was something terribly wrong with the seat that was now a puddle and how I was getting shocked by it. As it turns out, I kept my phone on vibrate at work and threw it in my lunchbox as I was getting ready to head home to keep it dry. The shocks were Jess calling me on my phone to check and see if I was okay and getting home soon!! Just so you know, a metal lunchbox really facilitates the vibrations of a cell phone!

We ended up selling this car in Shreveport after we purchased a new car. We sold it for $600. We also received about $300 from the insurance company after a huge hail storm. So When it was all said and done, the car earned us $899! Not too bad for a $1 car that was momentarily blamed for electrocution!!

Back end of the "red car."