The No Good Very Bad Van
Does anyone remember Shel Silverstein? He wrote silly, absorbing, brilliant children's poems (the only kind I have ever truly understood) and I was thinking that he had one as entitled above. But, as fate and my three a.m. writing jones may have it, it was another book from my childhood that was mistakenly transposed. The story I was thinking of was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst.
Not that either of them has anything to do with this post, other than we had one of those days. Or, maybe it was a few of those days. Most of the issues centered around the ol' Chrysler Town and Country, a minivan of which, admittedly, I have become quite fond. As part of my time here, and as a selling factor, a minivan (said CT&C) was provided for me and I was sold on the rotation due to the ever growing size of my family. When I arrived at the airport, it had been parked and was waiting for me. A crust of wind blown snow coated its frame and the inside was well travelled. The rear seat did not latch, the doors were frozen shut, there was numerous road trips worth of trash (a Tim Horton's cup...someone had made a run to Canada), but free is free. The tires, however were a different story.
Now I was led to believe that Juneau is a rather temperate place, with rain likely throughout my stay. Such has not been the case. The day I arrived, temps were in the single digits and following a melt/thaw cycle, many of the roads were impassable without studded tires or chains. One of those roads was the path to our apartment. After nearly an hour of trying various methods and route, I had to give up and park several blocks down the hill from our domicile. This was fine, and I needed the exercise, but with Jana, my mom, and our minions joining us, that wouldn't do. As we approached her arrival, the roads only got worse. I talked my workplace into springing for a set of chains.
These allowed me to travel at sub sonic speeds in a three mile radius and make it up the pinnacle upon which we lived. This solution worked reasonably well until I pushed the limits to 40mph and lost one of the chains. Remarkably we were still able to make it up the hill, but safety then became something of an issue. Nobody wants their budding young family and mother jerked off the road by their one chain. So, then came the studded tires. A jubilant solution that allowed us to travel at normal speeds, visit far-flung places, and not risk death on a daily basis. Seems like a good idea until the tire place installs a hubcap incorrectly and you wind up with a flat along a busy highway in a blinding snowstorm. We actually had to be towed off the road on the rim. A great excitement for Jackson. Following a good chunk of my day off spent in the tire shop (again) we were once again mobile. This time it seems to have actually worked out.
I suppose this somewhat extended story was more traumatic than it now sounds, but I have to say the combination of weather and van issues has sadly jaundiced some of our stay here in Juneau. I think even the best of environs would probably be trying on our lack of sleep and the ringing in our ears of crying babies and an energetic two year old. There is another snowstorm blustering as we speak. The radio said 10-18 inches today followed by more over the next two days. Wish I had my skiis.
Not that either of them has anything to do with this post, other than we had one of those days. Or, maybe it was a few of those days. Most of the issues centered around the ol' Chrysler Town and Country, a minivan of which, admittedly, I have become quite fond. As part of my time here, and as a selling factor, a minivan (said CT&C) was provided for me and I was sold on the rotation due to the ever growing size of my family. When I arrived at the airport, it had been parked and was waiting for me. A crust of wind blown snow coated its frame and the inside was well travelled. The rear seat did not latch, the doors were frozen shut, there was numerous road trips worth of trash (a Tim Horton's cup...someone had made a run to Canada), but free is free. The tires, however were a different story.
Now I was led to believe that Juneau is a rather temperate place, with rain likely throughout my stay. Such has not been the case. The day I arrived, temps were in the single digits and following a melt/thaw cycle, many of the roads were impassable without studded tires or chains. One of those roads was the path to our apartment. After nearly an hour of trying various methods and route, I had to give up and park several blocks down the hill from our domicile. This was fine, and I needed the exercise, but with Jana, my mom, and our minions joining us, that wouldn't do. As we approached her arrival, the roads only got worse. I talked my workplace into springing for a set of chains.
These allowed me to travel at sub sonic speeds in a three mile radius and make it up the pinnacle upon which we lived. This solution worked reasonably well until I pushed the limits to 40mph and lost one of the chains. Remarkably we were still able to make it up the hill, but safety then became something of an issue. Nobody wants their budding young family and mother jerked off the road by their one chain. So, then came the studded tires. A jubilant solution that allowed us to travel at normal speeds, visit far-flung places, and not risk death on a daily basis. Seems like a good idea until the tire place installs a hubcap incorrectly and you wind up with a flat along a busy highway in a blinding snowstorm. We actually had to be towed off the road on the rim. A great excitement for Jackson. Following a good chunk of my day off spent in the tire shop (again) we were once again mobile. This time it seems to have actually worked out.
I suppose this somewhat extended story was more traumatic than it now sounds, but I have to say the combination of weather and van issues has sadly jaundiced some of our stay here in Juneau. I think even the best of environs would probably be trying on our lack of sleep and the ringing in our ears of crying babies and an energetic two year old. There is another snowstorm blustering as we speak. The radio said 10-18 inches today followed by more over the next two days. Wish I had my skiis.
posted by rob at 3:06 AM
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