There are many types of vacations....there are beach vacations, skiing vacations, cruise vacations...and then there are Murphy's Law vacations. Whoever this Murphy person might be, he apparently came up with this profound pronouncement, possibly based on his own life experiences, that whatever could go wrong would go wrong. Sure we all have days where this law applies but until you've spent four entire days in Murphy's world, you can't begin to understand what he was talking about.
It all began innocently enough with plans to spend four relaxing days at our new home in Palm Harbor Florida with my oldest daughter and her four year old son. Maybe I should have been a little more wary when, due to a power outage the night before, my alarm clock failed to go off at the appointed hour and I was shaken awake by my husband telling me it was already 6:15 a.m. Knowing my daughter was due to pick me up in 15 minutes, I hurriedly dressed, turned on my curling iron and grabbed a quick cup of coffee to wash away the cobwebs in my brain. I was still trying to coax some shape into my hair and cramming the last makeup items in my suitcase when my daughter arrived. We finally headed off to the airport about 30 minutes behind schedule but with plenty of time to make our 9 a.m. flight. Parking in the long term lot, we wrestled our suitcases out of the car and made our way to the shuttle stop. Now normally you barely have time to set your stuff down before the bus pulls up, but in keeping with the morning's theme, the bus took almost a half hour to arrive. Rushing into the airport, we checked in and ran for the gate dragging this four year old along at an unwilling pace. We managed to make it to the gate with minutes to spare before they started boarding. We settled into our seats and, taking a deep breath, looked forward to our trip.
The flight was smooth and uneventful and we landed in Tampa to be greeted by sunshine and clear skies. We stopped by the Hertz counter, picked up the keys to our rental car and headed out to the lot. OK so the child seat being on top of the car instead of inside was annoying, it took my daughter only a couple of minutes to unwrap and install the seat and we were on our way. Driving across the causeway was beautiful as always and we arrived at the house in good time. I unlocked the door, expecting to be greeted with a rush of cool air since we had had the air conditioner replaced in June. The rush of air was more like a pizza oven than a freezer and I immediately began checking breakers. Checking the unit itself, there was the sound of the fan running but no reassuring sound of the condenser kicking in. Houston, we have a problem. I went back into the house and picked up the phone which had been turned on the day before. Instead of the hum of a dial tone, all I could hear was loud static and the barest echo of a dial tone. Cellphone to the rescue. Deciding the air conditioner was more important than the phone, I called the AC people and they agreed to send out a serviceman that afternoon. Fifteen minuts after his arrival, he came back into the house shaking his head. Apparently the new unit had a leak which was why we had replaced the old one in the first place!! Since it was a warranty situation, they would turn it over to the company that handled the warranty work and it would get fixed the next day. The serviceman recharged the unit to get us through the night and making sure the office had my cell number, we called Pizza Hut and settled in for the evening.
Just because the air conditioner was leaking, the phone wasn't working right and the cable stubbornly refused to come on for well over an hour, it still hadn't occurred to me that Murphy might be lurking somewhere close by.
We left the house early the next day and spent a wonderful day at my sister's, lounging out by the pool and relaxing. I had even begun to regain my sense of humor when as my brother-in-law opened the door to greet us, I smiled and politely asked "Could I borrow a cup of air conditioning please?". Since I received no calls from the AC company, I naturally assumed that they had taken care of the leaking unit and saying goodnight to Nancy and Harlan we headed back home around 8 p.m. I had heard the expression "Hotter than the hinges of Hell" but had never felt it until I opened the door to my house that evening. The thermostat was straining to burst out of its box at 95 plus degrees, and after checking around, I was fairly certain our repairman had not shown up. As my daughter and grandson camped out on the lanai since it was much cooler outside than in, I spent a restless night, hot physically and emotionally, resisting the urge to leave a blistering message on the answering machine of the repair company at 2 a.m. Finally at 7:15 I called the company and they promised to have someone out by 9:30. True to their word, the repairman arrived, fixed the leak and apologizing for our problems, wished us a good weekend. We lounged in the cool air, ignored the phone issue and contemplated what to do that day.
Finally summoning up a little energy after very little sleep the night before, we went off to visit with my parents for a while and then stopped by Nancy's again. Nancy's husband Harlan wasn't feeling well and had begun to break out in a mysterious itchy red rash so after a quick dip in the pool for my grandson, we hopped in the car. I waved to Nancy standing at her door, turned the ignition key and...CLICK!!! Trying it again I was met with absolutely nothing. Nancy grabbed her phone to call AAA and we trudged back through her door to wait. Although the situation was anything but humorous, I walked through Nancy's door shaking my head and laughing out loud. OK Murphy, where are you hiding?? AAA started the car and we drove home. Needless to say, after all the events of the past few days, I was a little hesitant when I opened the door to my house. Thankfully we were greeted by cool air and all seemed right with the world again. Just a string of bad coincidences and the rest of the weekend would be fine. Uh-huh sure.
Sunday dawned gray and rainy and noone was in a hurry to do much of anything. My grandson apparently was engrossed in a marathon cartoon-watching contest so I began connecting the computer Nancy had dropped off intending to spend the afternoon surfing the net. The phone connection had cleared considerably after the heat was out of the house so I was optimistic as I sat down to play. After several hours and many mumbled curses, the stubborn machine still refused to admit that it had a modem much less let it connect so I admitted defeat and turned the blasted thing off. Nancy stopped by and gave it the good old college try, and even though it used to be her computer, the machine was defiant. My other sister Carol came by and we decided to just sit and talk as it seemed the least frustrating activity of my vacation. After my sisters left, we pried my grandson away from the TV and went in search of a restaurant. We found a Perkins which fit the need and after a good meal, we got back into the car. I turned the key.....and.......CLICK!!! By now I was certain that even though I hadn't seen him, Murphy had somehow invaded this vacation and was lurking somewhere enjoying my frustration.
I called Hertz roadside assistance and after about an hour, the serviceman arrived and jump started the car again. As he told me I ought to think about trading it in for a different rental, I assured him that though I had thought about that, it wouldn't make much sense now since we were leaving the next day at noon. Besides, it seemed to start fine in the driveway and as long as I didn't to turn it off again, we should get to the airport OK. Obviously Murphy had one last joke up his sleeve.
Feeling a sense of caution, we packed up early the next morning and locked up the house at 8:45 a.m. Plenty of time for the drive to Tampa and our noon flight. I got in, inserted the key and....Damn it Murphy!!! The stupid vehicle didn't even give me the courtesy of a Click this time. Grabbing my cellphone I called Hertz again, barely containing my mounting anger, and was assured help would arrive in less than 45 minutes. Repeating that I had a noon flight and time was of the essence, we settled back to wait. Watching the minutes tick by, I waited an hour before I called Hertz again. They assured me the man was only 10 minutes away and I agreed to wait. Meanwhile, my neighbors had seen us standing outside all this time, and concerned something was wrong, came over to offer assistance. Bob offered a ride, another man ran home to get jumper cables and others just offered sympathy. Despite the neighbor's efforts, the car refused to start and making my final call to Hertz, I accepted the neighbor's offer of a ride as I told Hertz where they could find their vehicle so they could tow it in. Due to the heroic efforts of our neighbor Bob, we arrived at the Tampa airport at 11:30 a.m., quickly checked in and, ending the trip as it began, arrived breathlessly at the gate with minutes to spare before boarding started.
Although I wouldn't want to think that Murphy may have tagged along with my daughter and grandson, having spent much time in Florida without mishap, I found myself wondering. Just to be on the safe side, I have decided that until further notice, noone under the age of 55 will be allowed at the Florida house. After all, it IS an over-55 park. Besides, knowing I have such good and helpful neighbors makes me even more positive we chose the right house to buy. Take that Murphy!!