GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!!

Its past midnight and I am still awake. I just uploaded pics that I will get printed to give to the insurance adjuster... Today, or technically yesterday I was driving down Garden Street headed home to start dinner and do some finger painting with Marcus Jr. I was approaching the Tom Thumb on Garden Street behind the Gulf Power Building. I started to keep driving, but something told me to go ahead and get gas from there so I won't have to do it later. As I was pulling up to the pump, my car completely shut down. I thought it was odd because I had a quarter tank of gas and the car wasn't running hot or anything. I put the car in park and before I could think to do anything else the car began to smoke from under the hood. I grabbed Marcus Jr and headed inside to get change to use the pay phone to call Marcus Sr because i didn't have a cell phone with me and I didn't know what to do. I asked the cashier for change and to point me in the direction of the pay phone-which was on the opposite end of the parking lot. Just as she handed me four quarters a guy ran into the gas station and said, "That black Lexus out there is catching on fire." I looked out the door and the smoke was pooring from under the hood. The guy offered to push my car away from the pump to decrease the chance of an explosion. I gave him my keys, but the car would not budge out of park. The black smoke started coming out thicker and faster. The cashier handed me the phone at the counter and told me to call 911. Instantly everyone in the store went into panic and began rushing out to move their cars. The other cashier called someone who basically told her to shut down the pumps immediately. I called the fire department, who showed up extremely fast-probably 2 minutes. The firefighters jumped out and opened the hood of my burning car and at that moment when I saw them hosing the car, thats when it finally hit me...my car is gone. My car that I just got last month is gone. The car that I still have a paper tag on is G-O-N-E. The firefighters said that it was an electrical fire. I know we are going to have to go into combat with the car dealership, because we have very,very strong reason to believe that they are liable for the fire.




What's really sticking with me is the "What ifs" For example-I had picked Marcus Sr up for lunch and decided to go ahead and run some errands, like go to the Social Security office to apply for a new Social Security card because I can't find mine. When I got down there the office was already closed so I decided to go home which is why I was on Garden St. What if I didn't go run any errands and just went home after dropping Marcus Sr off from lunch-I would've taken the interstate home, which means I would've been going 70-80mph on the interstate when my car decided to catch on fire. What if I decided to just wait and get gas later? If you are familiar with the Tom Thumb I was at, you know that there is a big bridge you go over before you get to Centennial Imports and Lookers. Based on where my car shut down and began to smoke I would've been going up the bridge-what if my car shut down and started to roll back down the bridge and hit another car? Can you just image the outcome with my car that is in the process of an electrical fire smacking into another car, infront of a gas station! What if I had the windows rolled up and the sunroof closed with the a/c on and my car shut down (and when I say my car shut down-nothing worked the locks, the windows, the engine, the radio, etc.) and my car began to smoke because it was on fire and in the time it would take me to pull over the electrical functions go out (like it did at the gas station) and my son and I end up trapped. So many "what ifs" but luckily I didn't find out the answer to those questions. Everything happens for a reason. I can't wait to find out why this happened to us to day. To make matters worse after the ordeal I was at Marcus' job and one of his customers accidently knocked my camera off of the counter. I turned it on and it worked...it wasn't until an hour later that I realized that he broked my lens...everything happens for a reason...I hope...




R.I.P
February 20, 2009 - March 30, 2009