Thinking of Carol - for two reasons.
1. Last summer Carol broke her pinkie. I just broke my little toe.
More than 6 months have passed. She no longer has to wrap it in a splint but it is still swollen and she continues her pinkie exercises to gain full mobility. In September we hiked and biked in New Hampshire and Maine with Happy Hikers AK. The pinkie did not prevent her from climbing mountains, biking, and driving long distances.
Last week, during our 2016 Blizzard, I broke my small toe in 2 places on the eve of a Happy Hiker VA trip to Emerald Isle. Carol's pinkie came to mind immediately. I limited my hiking a little . . . but, like Carol, it was more of an annoyance.
2. Carol is famous for keeping records in tiny spiral notebooks. Those records could have prevented a lot of grief.
My cousin Linda and I stopped at a McDonalds for lunch shortly after leaving Linda's home in Columbia, SC on our Cuz Road Trip to the beach (Emerald Isle, NC). Steve even christened the interior and exterior of Linda's '99 Honda Accord with camellia petals. After lunch we talked a little, laughed a little, talked a little and laughed some more . . . Until we decided to phone Jim and ask which presidential candidate he favored. I searched for my purse and phone but could not find them in Linda's car. Near Lumberton, NC we pulled over and scoured the car. Oh no, I left it at the McDonalds! That was 2 hours ago.
Where was that McDonalds? Neither Linda nor I had a clue where we got off the highway. We turned around and began the search for our lunch stop.
No Fear. I have a FIND MY IPHONE app on my iPad. But why does it say my iPhone is in Lumberton, NC? Uh oh, maybe the app is set to find the iPad I am holding, not my iPhone.
Okay, I can look up all the McDonalds in SC on my iPad because I have cellular data! And I can phone them on Linda's phone.
Linda does not have a smart phone and she prepays for minutes. Before the trip Steve connected her phone to the car radio so she could listen to books on the drive home alone. Sounds good except when she wants to talk on the phone in the car she must speak into a tiny mic attached to her steering column. Phoning numerous McDonalds to see if a black purse was 'turned in' was easier SAID than done. To talk on her phone I had to stick my head through the steering column and speak directly into the tiny mic!
Had Carol been driving .....there would be no need to phone all the South Carolina McDonalds along the highway. Carol would know the exact location of the McDonalds where we had lunch. Her notebook would indicate the time we stopped, the mileage, the time we left, and the location. Carol, I need your RECORDS!
What if I could switch the device attached to the FIND MY IPHONE app. I tried that and in the process erased everything from my iPad! No phone, no iPad. This is serious. I then phoned Apple guru Criss Hyde. He answered right away but I could not fit my head through the steering wheel to make myself heard on Linda's phone. I hung up. Linda then phoned Jim who was on Highway 81 driving home to Leesburg, VA from Columbia, SC and explained our dilemma. It was easier for her to speak into the mic on the steering column. She also asked Jim to phone Criss and tell him to ignore the garbled call from us.
Heading further from the beach, we at least knew we ate lunch south of 'South of the Border'. After passing 'South of the Border' we stopped at every exit that displayed the Golden Arches.
We got off the first exit and drove to the McDonalds and it was obvious that it was not the one.
At the next exit, it was also obvious that it was not the one - But I decided to go inside and ask the manager to phone the next few McDonalds restaurants to inquire about a purse. This took quite a bit of time but the manager was helpful. She made a few calls and came back to say - Yes, the Latta McDonalds has a lost purse but no iPhone. We asked 'What exit is Latta?' (in case another town's name was on the exit). She did not know. She phoned the Latta McDonalds again so I could ask their highway exit number. 164
Okay. Off to exit 164. Carol would know all this already. NO time would have been wasted.
The manager of the Latta McDonalds brought out my black purse. All money was there and all credit cards, etc. Thank you, Lord. But no iPhone.
Now, back to the beach. Hours had passed and it was almost dark when we reached Lumberton, NC. for the second time. I had wasted Linda's limited minutes on her phone. Soon it was very dark. Our headlights suddenly illuminated a deer sitting on the pavement in our lane of a two lane country road. Its head moved from side to side and then we heard the THUMP. It felt like speeding over a speed bump. Linda was traumatized. 'Should we stop?' she asked. What would we do if we stopped? No working phone and I wasn't going to give first aid to the deer.
I volunteered to drive the rest of the way to Emerald Isle. We pulled over and I walked in the front of the car to see if we had a deer's head on the grill. We did not. Linda walked around the back and got in the passenger seat. On to Emerald Isle and a week sans electronic devices and many headaches trying to lock and replace my beloved iPhone.
Photos of Emerald Isle trip:
SEVEN MONTHS LATER:
Linda left a message on my phone with her new 21st century cell phone. "Call me ASAP"
She told me she was driving a woman and her grandson to church and the young boy was delighted to find an iPhone under the seat. Steve plugged it in and recognized my photos.
