Story of my trip that should have been until Tuesday

Please take the time to read this, it isn't insanely long, and only will take up like 5-10 minutes of your day. :)
 
Welp, I am back. xD My trip with my dad was totally messed up.  We were going to Minneapolis, MN, which is about 2 and a half hours away from where I live, to go to a concert this evening and then sleep at my grandmother's house in Champlin, MN, then the next day help her clear out some of the junk in her house, then go to another concert out of town about 30 minutes away the next evening.  Then we were going to camp for a couple days and then go to a waterpark on Tuesday for a while, then come home.  Well, when we were entering Minneapolis, my dad's car broke down and would not start.  Traffic was backed up and it was a LOT of stopping and starting for about 10 minutes.  The car broke down, would not start, and the other drivers seemed to not have a clue how to drive because, even with my dad's blinkers on signaling that we were having car troubles, a few other cars just stopped behind us expecting us to go.  The road was a 3 lane road, but there was construction ahead, so 2 of the lanes were closed off, but it was easy to get on them and pass us, because the construction was farther ahead.  We ended up calling my dad's mother, who is afraid of driving on roads with other vehicles (xD) and she got her neighbor to drive to where we were with my grandmother. There were quite a few people who gave us the finger or yelled cuss words at us as we were sitting there.  My dad didn't think we should push the vehicle to the side for some (possably stupid) reason, so we were just sitting there watching the cars drive by, staring at us.  When my grandmother and her neighbor got there, we pushed the car to the side, and while they were there with the car, my father and I went to a bar (my 1st time in a bar xD) to use the restroom, as it was over 3 and a half hours since either of us used the restroom, xD.  My grandmother called Triple A and they got a tow truck there about an hour and a half later.  They towed it, with my dad and I in the tow truck, back to a FireStone in St. Cloud, where we live.  I got a really bad headache, because I have very, very bad motion sickness, on the way to St. Cloud, because it was really bumpy and I had to sit in the back (back as in back seat in the tow truck, not the truck bed in the way back) , cramped up with no leg room and no easy way to look out the front window.  When we got to FireStone at around 11 PM, my dad called my mom, who was up waaaaaaayyy later than she normally is (she goes to bed by 6 PM usually because she gets up at 3 AM to deliver multiple newspaper routes with no days off, not even Christmas).  She was already going to be up though, because she was picking my sister and my girlfriend (who are good friends) up from church, so she picked us up from FireStone, and brought us home.  So all in all, I am so freakin motherbleeping pissed.  The only thing good is that I will be back on Oasis, although I cannot say how good of a mood I am going to be in....
 
Anyway, please pray, or just hope, if you are not religious, for my father's car to be fixed cheaply.  We won't be able to have it for a while, because we have no money to get it.  For the last 6 years my family have not had more than a few dollars for things other than regular bills and groceries.  And we have, some weeks, been having to not get a couple meals for a week or something because we don't have enough money.  My family would no doubt be homeless if it weren't for my church.  They have helped us out in so many ways.  They have helped us in the past when we couldn't afford groceries, or when we had car troubles and couldn't afford it, along with many other occasions.  Also, the FireStone by our house has been such a help, as we have a long history with car troubles, and we always bring it there.  Since we cannot afford good cars, we have to buy the old, used cars that don't last long.  We have been going to FireStone since before I was born.  They even recognize my parents or our last names because we have been there so often.  They are really nice about making it as cheap as possible.  Also, there was one time that my mom's van broke down, and it costed about 1,200$ to fix, and my mom didn't know what to do.  She had a family friend drive her there and she went in and told them that we probably won't ever be able to get the van back, because we didn't have anywhere near enough money to get it fixed.  When my mom finished the story, the person there said "Devona, someone who said they were a friend of your's came in a few hours ago, and payed all of the cost.  It is completely payed for, you don't have to pay a cent."  Those were the exact words, and I doubt I, or any of my family members, will forget them.  To this day, we do not know who did it, but we don't need to know, we are oh so grateful though to that kind friend who did that for us.
 
So yeah, my family is in horrable money situation, but we are blessed in so many ways, with loving friends who have helped us in times of major need, and with so many miracles going on around us.  It is truly amazing to see how people love us for who we are, not for our things, because we don't have much things at all.  I have thought a lot on what life would be like in a rich family, and I have determined that I would never ever pick a different family or friends.  I see so often how rich people have a lot of "friends", but 80% of those "friends" aren't real friends, they are just there for the things.  I don't have a lot of friends, but I do know that the friends I do have, like me for me, and that is what matters.
 
I didn't really mean to make it this long, but I started writing this, and next thing I know, I am all the way down here. xD

You were a little iffy on how you wanted a reaction on this, or if you even wanted one... but I think a reply is warranted :)

It is nice to see someone who respects and is glad to have their faith, especially in the teenager years. It's hard to hold on to religion with all of the influences a kid will have during their growing up years. But when I realize everything that it has done for me, I'm surprised xP I understand your car troubles- I had something similar happen to me before. We were in our old van one day, and I was pretty sick. All I wanted to do was go home or get something cold, so my mom offered to drive my brother and I to a Wendy's for a Frosty. Unfortunately, our van broke down in right at intersection in the turn lane. There was no way we could move it to the side, as the car was not only in a six lane street, but it was rush hour (there is a huge amount of traffic during this time in phx). So it was terrible, sitting there in a hot car with horns beeping and my mom waiting for the tow truck. Still, we worked through it and I look back only to feel blessed about what we have now. Life is still hard for my family, but I know now not to ask 'why', and why is it happening to us? I look out onto other people who are monetarily doing better than us, like you do. But I things would be different, and there is nothing better in my life than my family and my house. I've tried to realize my mom's position and her thoughts as a single parent, raising two teenagers and one adult child who has problems. Not just thinking that 'it's hard for her' but thinking that 'my mom has accepted our situation and not argued about it, because it's what God gave us, and things could be a lot worse'.  But I'm very happy for you that you have friends who will go out of their way to help you in unexpected ways. This can be interpreted in many ways, but accepting it as knowing you are not alone really benefits the mindset. I wish my familial life was stable, and not worrying about how my mom can't afford to pay for school testing and medical bills, but it's not just us against the world. From my opinionated standpoint (which is a religious one), I very happy to see that your ruined plans weren't just something that was typical of your life and class, but that you were able to recognize that things could've been a lot worse, and people love you for who you are, not for your social standpoint. And that someone from above was watching out for you... <3

The reason I was iffy about a reaction is because you asked if I wanted your religious  based reaction, and I have been made fun of or harassed about my Christianity on the server by multiple people, so I didn't know if you were going to do that or not.  Thank you

Wow man, rough day...

u know me at least well enough to know that I respect ur beliefs one way or another... anyway im hopin the best for the troubles with the car... it happens to the best of us...

on that note, with wut u described about the stopping and starting before it broke down, it sounds like a water pump issue to me, hopefully it didn't get too hot in the block because of it , Chances are that the computer sensed that it was getting overheated and isn't allowing the engine to start back up until the pump is changed out and a technician clears the code, so that a good thought for you  

Good luck to ya brother!

Being non-religious, I can't really relate to a lot of your situations, but it is good to know you can get so much support from your community, good luck in life bro.

Sorry to hear about your trip falling out on you and about your car troubles, I can't really relate to those in any sane way i can write down that everyone will understand. However, as for being in a tough spot financially, i know your pain. When i was a wee lad, i grew up in Toronto (Canada, eh). But not just ANYWHERE in Toronto, i grew up in the hood, Jane and Finch. We were the white family that had been living there for 20 something years, a house of 7. Myself, my parents (And later just 1 parent, alternatively, which i find funny) my aunt and 2 cousins and lastly, my grandmother. To us, me and my cousins, we knew we were poor, we didn't care though. We had a little jungle gym in our alley, and we had an N64, so we were happy. We still managed to be kids, through it all, and i feel that THIS is how i can relate to your predicament. Through it all, your'e still your own person. How you cope with the rest, whether it be religion or Minecraft, is irrelevant. Things will look up, they always do for people who look forwards and don't dwell on the past or present. Thats whats happened to me and my mom, thats what i think will happen to you and your family.

My family heard what the cost would be to get my father's car back, and it won't be gotten back soon.   We need to somehow come up with 220$ before we can get his car back,  

And AK, I think you are right, I heard something about the fuel pump being the issue, but all I know about that is what I overheard my mother and father saying.

 $500 to replace a fuel pump!?!?!  that's insane....  Glady that's not an overheating issue which could cost u an entire engine tho...  I just wish I lived nearby bro... id come over and change that thing out for $20.... I mean it could only get upwards of that price if I completely butchered the sending unit...  Hopefully they didn't do that...

Good luck to u and yours lil bro

*

AKTIV8R wrote: $500 to replace a fuel pump!?!?!  that's insane....  Glady that's not an overheating issue which could cost u an entire engine tho...  I just wish I lived nearby bro... id come over and change that thing out for $20.... I mean it could only get upwards of that price if I completely butchered the sending unit...  Hopefully they didn't do that...

Good luck to u and yours lil bro

Typo.  The 5 is right above the 2. It about 200, not 500. Sorry for the typo

Ahh, ok that sounds a little more reasonable... man don't do that to me haha, I about hit the ceiling and was headed ur way to strangle a mechanic :retardlol: