Yup, I had great plans for today. Some got accomplished but others didn’t. Fed my dog, Diva, had my coffee, did the crossword puzzle, answered and sent emails and checked in with Facebook. Got the birthday presents wrapped and the cards made out. Yes, I was on a roll.

I gave Diva a treat as I headed out the door for an appointment and to run a few errands. Got in the car and tried to start it. Hmmmm, no lights, nothing. What’s going on? Wait a minute. When I was driving home yesterday it was raining and I had the lights on.

OOOOOOOPS. I left the lights on!!! I didn’t turn them ALL the way OFF. Drat. Now the battery is dead. No way am I going to make my appointment. Thankfully I was able to reschedule for the afternoon. Whew. Now to call AAA.

I pulled out my Automobile Club Card and dialed the 800 roadside assistance number. The nice lady on the phone looks up my account through my phone number but refers to me as someone else. ??? What? I read her my account number on my card.

“Oh, you aren’t Darcy? Well are you related to Michael?” she asks.

“No, I’m not Darcy and what is Michaels last name?”

“Michael %$&#” she says.

“Well, I don’t know who they are but they do not belong on my account. They are not connected to me in any way.”

“I can fix that after we get your service call started. First I need to ask if you are in a safe place.”

“I’m in my garage so I think I’m in a pretty safe place.”

“What seems to be the problem?”

“I left my lights on and now my car won’t start. I need a jump. My battery is only a few months old so I know I don’t need a new one.”

“Let me see if there is a battery service truck available in your area. There is, the truck will have new batteries on board in case you need a new one. I’ve sent your address and you should be getting a call as to when the driver might arrive. The estimated time is up to 2 hours.”

“Okay. Thanks. Now can we get the other people removed from my information?”

“I’ve taken care of that. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No and Thank you. Have a good weekend.”

My dog keeps barking at the door to the house so I let her out and she gets into the car. Diva thinks we are going for a ride. LOL Nope. Neither of us are going anywhere for a bit. Boy, it’s hot in the garage. Glad I have some water.

Duh, I could go into the house. I decide to tough it out in the garage. I do a little clean up here and there. Diva and I are having a good time but I think it is too hot for her. She did drink some water that I had put out for her but I think she is better off in the House. She isn’t too happy about that though.

About an hour later, the  AAA truck arrives. I show him my AAA card and he remarks ‘Wow, a member for 40 years.’

“Yes, I got AAA when I got my first car.”

He gets to work setting things up to start my car. He informs me that my battery is dead. (yes, I know that) He is not sure if the batter will hold a charge as it has been completely drained. I tell him the battery is only a few months old so it should be able to be charged.

“Well, I will let you know after I do my diagnostics.”

Oh man, is he going to try to sell me a new battery? That is not figured into my expenses right now. I’ve got things to do, things to buy!!!

After about 20 minutes of fiddling with this and that, he tells me to start my car. I do and it starts right up. Now he has to do a few more ‘diagnostic’ things.

He hands me a print out that my battery is good, it was fully drained though so I should probably drive around or let my car run for about an hour to get it to charge somewhat. If that doesn’t work, it will need to be on a ‘trickle charge’ for about 9 hours. I thank him and he drives off.

Choice made, I will drive around for about an hour. I pull my car out of the garage and head out. I set a timer on my phone for 60 minutes and go sightseeing.
I don’t get very far before my daughter calls. She chuckles when I tell her about the dead battery. We talked for about an hour as I drove around town so I didn’t need the timer after all. Battery got charged and I got to do all my plans for the rest of the day.

As a reminder: Check your lights and make sure they are either fully off or on auto so YOU don’t have a dead battery the next morning.