Update on Bruce

Yesterday, a real tragedy struck. I was driving Bruce through Kansas on my way to my Grandma's in Oklahoma. I was going to meet my family there for a couple of days. About halfway there, the heater stopped. It got really cold. But I just thought, well the heater's gone out. I'll have to get it looked at when I go home. But then a red light came on that said "Check Gauges." And one of the gauges was all the way in the red. I didn't know what the gauge meant. But I thought that I could take it to a mechanic at Grandma's while I was there and had a couple days. The instrument panel is quirky anyways so I just didn't know if something was actually wrong or not but I had a bad feeling. So I decided I would get it checked out. I stopped at a truck stop to get a bite to eat. I checked the manual to see what the gauge meant. Engine Cooliant light.

When I attempted to start Bruce again, he wouldn't start. I didn't know what to do. I called my fellow Jeep friend Keith but had to leave a message. I tried starting it again. It started but it was shaking really bad. I killed it. I was really unsure of what to do. But where I was, was going to be no help. I knew I was close to Wichita. I thought I could make it there. I tried starting it again. It started up and I started driving. Keith called me back and said I needed to pull over right away. The car is going to overheat. I said, I am literally in the middle of nowhere. Plus, I was so confused. I thought cars only overheated in the summer. It was 20 degrees outside! But then I thought I would try and go back to the truckstop. I exited to turn around. Bruce died at the top of the exit. Crap. I was able to pull onto the shoulder. Smoke started coming out. I wanted to cry. Bruce could not be dead!

Thanks for the wonders of cell phones, I found a tow truck service and they came about 25 minutes later. Dustin, the nicest tow truck guy in the world, drove me and Bruce back to the closest town, El Dorado, Kansas. He dropped Bruce off at his mechanic, a guy named Mitch. Then, he dropped me off at a Super 8 motel for the night. Dustin asked me what happened and when I told him about the red light, he made a face and said, "It's going to be bad. Real bad." Then he said I should just sell Bruce! He doesn't understand. There's no way I'm selling. Bruce is completely paid off and is still young! Even if these repairs cost a lot, there's no way I can afford a car payment right now for a new car.

So, I was stranded at the Super 8. But thanks to my awesome family, they drove almost 3 hours out of their way to me and stayed the night. Then, we all drove to Grandma's, just 2 more hours south into northern Oklahoma. At least I was with them and not all alone in that motel room.

Mitch called this morning with the diagnosis. To sum it up, I pretty much melted the engine. He's going to have to order a lot of parts, some of which have to be brought up from Wichita. It may take a few days. That part is fine with me because it just means I can take a few more days off of work. My only concern is poor Itsa, stuck in my apartment in KC. I left her enough food to last until Tuesday night but now it looks like I may be back until Thursday or Friday.

I am so glad that Bruce is going to make a full recovery. I am convinced that he still has another 150,000 or so miles to go. But I feel terrible. I feel like it's my fault that this happened because I didn't know any better. I don't know anything about cars except to fill it up with gas and get the oil changed. I assumed that the fluids were checked when you changed the oil but maybe it's not. I feel so responsible for the damage. I suppose I need to somehow educate myself on taking better care of him. I don't really even know where to start.

Throughout this whole ordeal, I have kept pretty calm and collected. Yes, I am worried about how much this will cost but it's definitely way cheaper than buying a new car. The only time I really panicked was when Bruce actually died and the smoke was coming up. But once the tow truck came, I felt like it was all going to be ok. I was glad that it happened during the day. And I was glad that I was able to pull it over in a safe spot. Now, Bruce is in Mitch's hands. And I just hope and pray he makes it out ok!