Yesterday about 3:15, I got a frantic call from my son.  It went something like this: "Dad, why don't you answer your phone, you never know when there might be an emergency."  From that call I ended up going to just this side of La Grande, Oregon and putting a radiator in a Hyundai Elantra.  Yes pretty much the middle of nowhere, but it did beat going to Douglas, Wyoming to do it.  The place where Bailey ended up having to stop the car was actually kind of pretty.

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After going to Caldwell, turning around, heading to "Tune Tech" downtown where my brother in law, David is the service manager, to get a radiator kit.  Then heading up State Street all the way through Middleton, because only a lunatic would take I84 in the afternoon, we finally got to the car about 7pm.  It was about 12 miles east of La Grande.

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When I got the radiator from David, he told me that it was pretty well a quick swap....right. I had to undo this and that, remove the cooling fans, take off the AC cooling brackets and then found out I had forgotten a simple 10mm socket.  The one tool I needed most, I left in my tool chest.  So I sent Branden our second oldest son and Bailey's "better soon to be and when I say better, I mean it better happen," to La Grande to get one.  He was gone quite awhile, because La Grande rolls up the streets at 5.

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While he was gone a couple of trucks came off I84 but never stopped.  Then a young trucker, Justin from Nampa, who was hauling Tillamook cheese to Mountain Home, stopped. He was a listener at our old place who wondered where Brenda and I had gone and he had a 10mm socket.  He gave me the funniest line "Ya' never know who you're going to run into on the road", I was hoping it was metaphoric and not literal.  We went to changing the radiator, trying to get the thing done before Brandon got back.  Well it never happened, The bolts wouldn't go in right or stay, it was driving me crazy.  Finally I had to resort to tactics that would have made McGyver proud.

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I had one nut that wouldn't stay in place, (we need to make that one into a metaphor).  We tried everything we could and after spending about 15 minutes on it I had a guy thought. I found a piece of gum, fresh mind you, chewed it a little, stuck it on the bolt and put it in place.  To the amazement of both Branden and our truckin' buddy Justin, it worked.  About 30 minutes later, after using that same piece of gum another nut, (I realized afterward that I chewed the piece again to get it sticky,) we were ready to hit the road.

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Sweaty, greasy and really needing a snack, we were off, hoping we didn't miss anything and praying the Millenium Falcon would make it to light speed.  I stopped in Baker City for a 20 pack of chicken nuggets at McDonalds, which I'm regretting this morning big time, especially after a "White Chocolate with caramel added, triple shot" Dutch Bro's coffee.

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It was about midnight when I pulled into the Rebel Base, gave the guard dogs a quick left over snack of chicken nuggets and french fries, got a shower and was in bed by 12:30 only to get a severe case of thigh cramps at 1:30, then was back up at 3am...Woohoo, I'm done rescuing damsels in distress, well unless really needed.

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Never did understand this guy taking a good looking lady and tying her to the railroad tracks, just doesn't make much sense.

Kevin Mee

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