[RC] Tevis Bound????? Part 3 - Patrick Allen/Evelyn Hartman
We started for Reno, as there were no places in Truckee
that could help, all down hill. On the way up we had hit a chuck hole in the
dark and the front end bottomed out, just made for a bumpy ride but something
had happened when we rolled back down the hill and now the ride was
terrible.
We went to the KOA campground at the Reno Hilton and
spent Wednesday night there. Started calling and looking for a repair
place...finally found Reno Sparks RV and Auto Repair. We can recommend them
highly as they took really good care of us during the time we were there. We had
them fix the gas tank, and found we needed a new spring that had broken and new
shocks as one of them was broken also.
Pat had told me that we would go back and get to Tevis
on Thursday but when the transmission start acting up and slipping like
crazy on the way back to the campground it then become my need to
explain to him that I was no longer thinking of being there so that he
would take on no guilt for us not getting there.
We had borrowed the money from Pat's Aunt to fix the
shocks, spring and the gas tank but now what do we do?????? We just sat and
stared at each other, fear choking off our voices. I already had people waiting
to get their items from me at Tevis but that didn't help the money situation
now. I come from a very small family and only have one brother in AR that I
haven't seen for 17 years, my children and parents are gone. Pat's Aunt was
his only source and that had already been used.
The business of, Just for "horsin-round", started 10
years ago and in that time I have made many lasting friends, some I even
consider as family. There are several whom I have been privileged to have been
let into their lives during divorce, rebirth of personality, deaths, and severe
medical problems. I feel very touched that I could encourage and
uplift them just by being available and listening, that they wanted my presence
in their lives at such trying times and that they gained some comfort from me.
It was to one of these friends that I now turned to in my time of
need.
It wasn't till I heard Lee Vallone Beveridge's voice on
the phone that I cried...till now I had shed no tears...numbness, disbelief and
fear had kept my words and tears under tight control. Now the flood gates
opened at her response to my tail of woe. Her answer.....".Are you and Pat
Ok?....then the monies the easy part...sure". The relief and draining away of
tensions...there are no words to describe our gratitude.
Now begins the next repair process. The parts had
to be ordered (transmission, radiator, water pump) and would be in on
Monday....long weekend at the KOA with nowhere to go, one didn't come in so
we stayed at their lot (Reno Sparks RV) and they gave us power
for the motorhome. A new radiator was ordered and when it came in was too big,
so the old one had to be sent out for recoring. We will spend another night here
in their lot and hopefully be able to start for home Thursday morning.
"Home", that place seems such a great distance away in
both mileage and in attainability. It is now 7 days since we broke down. I am
feeling like Alice and falling down the rabbit hole, a step on the other side of
the door that leads to the Twilight Zone, hoping to wake up and find out this is
just a nighttime nightmare instead of a daytime one.
The physical and mental toll is great. The waiting,
waiting with nothing to do. We, most of our lives, live with someone, work with
others and have things happen in our daily lives that we can talk about to
others. When you do nothing and see no one and there is nothing new to
say.....this lack is weighing heavy on both of us.
Oh goody, the owner just gave us the morning paper to
read. On
Thursday last week the crank for the TV antenna fell out of the ceiling so
we can't even watch TV. Pat is a consummate TV watcher.....can you imagine the
withdrawals he is going through?????
Pat and I are both HAM Radio operators (w6pea/w6ome) and
there are two radios in this motorhome. One VHF and UHF bands and the other
radio is HF bands. There is an electrical problem with the HF rig and he was
unable to get it to tune the screw driver antenna. The VHF/UHF rig works
fine but were unable to program local repeaters as Pat had forgotten his
repeater directory at home. Our means of communications was very small. If he
had been able to get the radios to work he could have been talking all day
instead of fuming.
I brought 5 books with me and they have long been read.
I bought a small crossword book and it is almost finished. I am writing this
saga when my emotions will let me as my pen won't hardly write for some of these
statements.
Our dogs, Keaton and Lenny, have been just wonderful
during all of this mess. The oldest one (Keaton) got real sick with
separation anxiety the last time we boarded him so we brought both of them with
us. At times things would have been so much easier and less stressful, no
walking the dog for one, if they hadn't been with us but as animal lovers
and those that bond with four-legged creatures, I know you understand when I say
they have brought us many times of levity and distraction that have helped turn
our minds away from our reality.
We have been here in Reno 3 times for the convention,
while here we never got a chance to explore the city as we needed to get
back to our regular jobs. Reno this time stayed unexplored also. The campground
is on the Reno Hilton's property and they do have a shuttle service to and from.
We used it twice to get a bite to eat at one of the restaurants.The repair
shop is in an industrial complex and at 5:00 everyone leaves, no stores, no
restaurants, no one here but us....kind of scary. We are about 6 long
blocks from the Hilton and no shuttle service.
Patience at this these times is sorely tested, waiting
on others, a feeling of helplessness. For Pat, this is driving him crazy.
He is also a Diabetic and stress causes his Blood Sugar Readings to go wild. I
try to fix correct meals for him but we are running out of food and money to buy
it.
There are a lot of recriminations....should have done
this, should have done that. Knowing the repairs are literally costing us more
than we paid for the motorhome in the first place and that our debt will take
forever to be paid off. Wanting something to make your life more
comfortable and having it turn out this way, makes for a very bitter pill
to swallow.
