Broken Down Car
I ran the Charm City Reptile and Amphibian Rescue for 14 years (no longer in operation).
My cousin Gordy was coming into town for only a few hours, but I had to go to the Washington, DC shelter and pick up a couple of animals. They had two box turtles and a ball python.
I had a Ford Taurus wagon at the time, and it was pretty old when I got it. I thought everything was okay with the car, so I drove down to DC and got the animals. It’s always an experience going to the shelter to get an animal. First of all, most of the shelter people have no interest, and even a huge fear, of reptiles. They don’t want reptiles, amphibians or invertebrates in their shelter at all.
Upon arrival, you always have to wait. And wait. And wait. So, I waited. Finally, they came and got me. They had a pretty sweet setup with some nice six-foot Vision cages, although they had some snakes escape because there are no locks on the sliding glass doors. Just sayin’… You’ve got a $1,000 (approximately) cage, how about a $5 lock!?!?
Finally, I loaded up the car and headed home. I came up the BW Parkway from DC, and I soon as I hit the Baltimore Beltway, it was like a parking lot. The traffic was backed up for miles. I went about three to five miles, and my car stalled. No matter what I did, it wouldn’t start up again. Now, I was causing a second traffic jam in an already bad situation. And, I had reptiles in the car.
Using a cell phone, which most people didn’t have back in those days, I called AAA and said it was an emergency situation. My car was stuck in the center lane of the beltway. No one stopped to help me!! I couldn’t get out of the car. The first traffic jam was clearing up. People were whizzing past me, many giving me the finger, or they were yelling something I’d rather not repeat, out the window at me. That’s not helpful!
After about 30 minutes, two women — yes, women — pulled over onto the shoulder. They yelled across to me that they would push my car. One stopped traffic (on the beltway!!!). The other one pushed my car while I steered. NOT ONE MAN stopped to help. It was the middle of summer, and hot as Hell outside. They gave me a bottle of water and took off. What fantastic women they were! I never got a name or anything. They were just nice people. Meanwhile, I was now starting to need a bathroom. It was hot, and I was drinking water. I kept checking on the animals to make sure they were not too hot in their container. It would be a shame to go through all of this and then lose the animals to the heat.
Sitting on a small bush-covered hill, looking down at my broken car, I was fanning myself with the paperwork from the shelter. Debating whether or not the bushes would give me enough privacy to relieve myself behind one of them, the tow truck finally showed up. I gently stuffed the pillowcase holding the snake into my purse. Most people like turtles, not many like snakes. I had enough problems already and wasn’t tempting fate!
The tow truck driver was about 55 years old. He had slicked back, jet-black hair in a pompadour. He also had huge mutton chop sideburns. I thought I found Elvis! It was a great look. The cab of the tow truck smelled like a car repair shop, but the cool temperature was a relief from the hot sun of my perch on the hill. Turned out, he was a pretty cool guy himself. He told me his wife was a fan of turtles. I never admitted that I had a ball python in my purse…
“Elvis” towed me to the gas station, and I called my cousin Gail. She came and got me. By that time, the turtles had crapped up their containers. I’m sure the gas station people were happy to see me leave since the turtles were stinking up the entire waiting area. I noted that no one who entered the little waiting area sat anywhere near me. Maybe they thought it was me omitting the odor. Thank goodness the snake didn’t poop in my purse because it was in a pillowcase!
I finally got to have dinner with my cousin Gail, her brother Gordy and his family before they left for their vacation.
Please leave your comments below.
Read more by Holli Friedland.