Thursday, November 18, 2010

I Have Lost Track But Not Given Up

One day has blurred into the next this past week. Today we're trying to revive ourselves in time for the next trip.

This would be entirely unnecessary if I weren't living with a hoarder.

His overloaded pickup, pulling an equally overloaded enclosed 12' U-Haul trailer, broke down last night 45 miles west of the Mackinaw Bridge. Sparks flew from his rear passenger side as the truck & trailer swerved from side side to side. A driver of the the lane NEXT to him must have stained his pants before he drove into the ditch then out again just as Sweetie missed him by inches. A line of vehicles braked and slowed in both direction but did not stop after both our vehicles stopped.

About 10 minutes later an elderly man driving a new Dodge pickup offered his assistance. His cell phone got reception; mine did not. He lived nearby and knew who to call for a tow. He even walked the ditches by flashlight with us looking for the tire and wheel. Once the wrecker arrived he offered to hook the U-Haul up to his truck and pull it to the nearby garage. The wheel, tire, brakes and who know what else are gone or ruined. The brakes had just been replaced a few days earlier in preparation for the trip.

An hour later we were headed south in the car towing the fully loaded golf cart trailer.

In case you're confused: Sweetie's 1997 F-150 with 268,000 miles was fully loaded beyond the roof top & pulling the 12' U-Haul - also loaded. I was following in the 1996 Crown Vic towing the golf cart trailer. On it were a 250 gallon fuel oil tank, a cement mixer, and snow blower and cultivator attachments for his John Deere riding mower.

In my humble opinion, the only thing of worth moving were the four painting in my car, the things on the golf cart trailer, the antique twin bed and three tool boxes in the U-Haul.

Believe me, the rest was useless junk. Buckets and buckets of obscure items, many broken or missing parts. Not one bit of it has been touched since being moved to the Upper Peninsula 18 months ago.

This move has now cost us well over $2000 when all we really needed was one trip with the 12' U-Haul and the golf cart trailer.

Tomorrow, if the truck repairs are finished, we return to the UP to pick up the truck and pay who knows what in towing and repairs. And then we begin the journey again, hoping and praying the truck and trailer make it back here in one piece.

And once he's had some rest he STILL has stuff in that pole barn as well as a boat and trailer sitting in the yard. God help us because I'm ready to scream. Not that it will do any good.

If you've ever watched Hoarders on TV you have some idea of what I'm going through.

6 comments:

2 Tramps said...

Oh, yes, you have made quite a picture in my mind of what this whole event looked like. So glad that you are both safe and hoping you can be doing this for the last time...

Anonymous said...

Maybe the person who did the brakes didn't get the lug nuts back on tight enough?
Very nice to have a good samaritan to help you , such a great guy , it sounds like. I guess maybe he put himself in your place and knew he would like to be helped as much as possible if he were in your situation.
I hope the rest of your move is less eventful. B.

Mayberry said...

In Sweetie's defense, I've saved a lot of coin with the things I've "hoarded". Many times, I've got what I need to repair something on hand. No trip to the hardware store, no cash outlay. "You never know when something might come in handy".....

treesong said...

Dear Mayberry,

Yes, Sweetie has ocassionally found something useful in his junk to save us buying new. But we'll never need an entire bucket of faucets. Many buckets contain a mish mash of stuff, much of it broken or missing a part. He often can't find what he's looking for and gives up in disgust. That's the tough part. Being a true hoarder he can't see the stress, waste and expense this has created.

Anonymous said...

Hoarding is a fear of general loss and especially used as a protection against loss of love...so these items represent his footprints--his rightful place here--HIS things.

I will understand if you don't publish this note.

Mamma Bear said...

I can empathize with you. My "sweetie" is a hoarder too. He will fill up any empty space he finds and very seldom throws anything away. I have to really take control inside the house or I believe he would do the same inside our home. Although he has all these "needful things", he can never find anything when he needs it.

I have often wondered what would happen if he dies before I do. I have no idea what half of the things "stored" are or what to even do with them.

God help us! I hope the rest of your move is uneventful.