Walking The Mean Streets Of Fort Worth Texas With Bad Luck & Good Luck

I have had me a day. I skipped the morning swim due to the temperature being in the 30s. So, that started the day off bad.

Big Ed had an appointment in west Forth Worth, a bit west of University Drive. I wanted to go to Panther City Bicycles and finally get my wobbly wheel fixed. So, I set out on a car pooling adventure.

I dropped Big Ed off at his destination, then continued on to mine, about 2 miles away. I got to Panther City Bicycles to see a "Back in 5 Minutes" note on the door. Not a good sign. I was going to Panther City Bicycles because Fort Worth Weekly every year has it being the best bike shop in the area.

Well, FW Weekly greatly oversold this little hole in the wall. FW Weekly said the place had a test track out back. There was no such thing. So, I sat there for 5 minutes or so and then decided I didn't think I wanted to trust this place. So, I decided to head back to University Drive.

And that's when the fun started. My bike van would not start. I opened the hood, looked at the battery cables, tried again. Totally dead.

I decided to walk back to where I'd dropped Big Ed off, which seemed to make sense at the time. I take off walking, going from Magnolia to Rosedale. But then at the point where Rosedale heads over the Trinity River it did not look like safe walking.

So, I took a left and headed south into the Mistletoe Heights neighborhood. Beautiful homes, the road sort of meandered. About a mile or so later I realized that I had to get back across the Trinity River and that the first crossing was the University Drive bridge. Finally I came to Forest Park Boulevard and then to Colonial Parkway. I knew I was nearing the Fort Worth Zoo, so I was no longer disoriented.

About a mile later I was where I'd dropped Big Ed off. I went into a Barnes & Noble and waited for a phone call. It was now about 3:30. Phone rang. Found Big Ed, explained the problem. I figured we could take the bus back to Magnolia, but then we realized we had no clue how to do that. So, we started walking. This time I knew to go up Rosedale and not worry about it looking unsafe.

Got back to the bike van about a half hour later. Opened the hood. Tightened the battery connections. Tried to start it again. Still dead. Then a guy walks up, says he's a Mobile Mechanic, asks if we need a jump. Yes, please. He says he'll be right back. A few minutes go by, no mobile mechanic. So, I call AAA. They are on the line sending someone to help when the Mobile Mechanic shows up.

The Mobile Mechanic sticks on the cable, the bike van starts right up. Headed east towards home, needing a new battery. Or so I thought. After a few miles it became clear that something else was wrong. By about mile 10 it was decided that maybe the alternator was malfunctioning.

I decided to go to Super Wal-Mart. That's where I'd bought my last battery. Drive up, left the bike van running, saw a mechanic, asked if he installed batteries, explained the problem, he had me park the van in his garage and go buy a battery.

Then the battery mechanic, named Jonathon, very nice guy, discovered the alternator was, indeed, malfunctioning. Jonathon said the alternator was easy to replace, that he'd be willing to do so, tomorrow. So, we headed to O'Reilly's Auto Parts, bought a new alternator and Jonathon is coming here to install it tomorrow.

I tell you, I have the best luck with vehicle problems. It goes back to my first car, a 1965 Mustang Fastback. That car caused me so many fun breakdown adventures. I remember the best was the clutch going out after watching a taping of Laverne & Shirley at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Spent the night in a Chevron parking lot.