Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Three Ayem Blues Ride Again

If you want to get technical, it's actually the 2:37 ayem blues this morning.  However, I have a strong feeling it may last until well after the title time.

Normally when this hits I try to write a few verses about being unable to sleep accompanied by the "ba DUM ba DUM" of an imaginary guitar in the background to give that true blues feeling to the whole mess.  However, being as I have become one who likes to step out of the ordinary and take great risks with life and writing in general, you will find no song lyrics here today.

(ba DUM ba DUM)

Instead, I will regale you with the story that's keeping me up tonight...Spring Break.

The Girl has been extremely excited about a trip she and another friend were going to take to Galveston for Spring Break this year.  Her friend, Amy, works for one of the hotel chains in our fair city, so she was able to get a room for them for a greatly discounted rate.  They found another girl to go with them to share costs of the already incredible deal. 

After all, the hotel is within walking distance of the ocean, and has a Wal-Mart just across the road.  Everything necessary to maintain life as we know it is within their reach!

But on to the story...

First, it rained.  All day yesterday and from the weather forecast for Galveston, all day today.  Due to the rain and street conditions, Amy wanted to leave later than originally planned.  The idea was to miss out on at least some of the rain. 

They started out here at around 6 p.m., then went back to school to pick up a third girl to travel with them.  Amy wasn't feeling well when she got here.  She's diabetic, and her insulin pump was messing up.  Because of that, she had The Girl drive her car.

They got to school, picked up the other girl, and The Girl drove until midnight.  That's when the lines on the freeway started blurring a little, so she passed off the driving to S, the other girl.  Amy was still not feeling well. 

Unfortunately, S decided to drive like the proverbial bat out of hell.  She scared The Girl so much by speeding and tailgating during the rainstorm they had to drive through that The Girl got no sleep.  Meanwhile, Amy got even more ill and started throwing up.

Can you just picture the pleasantness of the drive?

Finally they reached Houston, where S was supposed to meet someone else at a hotel.  However, the directions to the hotel got a little skewed and what with everyone being tired and S being frustrated at the same time, there was an accident. 

S ran into a parked car in a hotel lot, knocking it into another car.  Bear in mind the car she was driving belonged to Amy, who was still puking.  The Girl was in the back seat.

Of course, the police had to be called.  The first question asked was how in the world S could have collided with a PARKED CAR in a lot with such force.  No one wanted to say they'd been on the road for over 15 hours straight, so they all just blamed it on her not being very observant.  They also neglected to impart the knowledge that S has had several wrecks over the past few months.  The Girl said she could see why! 

Reports were written, S was dispatched to the hotel she needed, and The Girl and Amy went on to Galveston in the somewhat damaged car.

It was raining.  Not only that, but the rain is scheduled to continue today, with a high of 66.  The girl called after they finally reached the hotel almost in tears.  She said she wished she'd never gone.  It was cold, the ocean was choppy, and there would be no laying out on the beach until Thursday.  Thursday is scheduled to be 75 and sunny.

Of course, she's dead tired.  She hadn't had anything to eat all day, and the strain of no sleep and dealing with someone else driving, the wreck, and getting lost in Houston didn't help.  I told her to get something to eat and go to bed, then call us later.

That was about twelve hours ago.  My guess is that she and Amy are fast asleep, and will be until morning.  We can only hope tomorrow is a better day for them.

If not, they'll be suffering their own Three Ayem Blues.

But hey, there's a Wal-Mart just across the road.  It's always good for what ails you...

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