My trip to the grocery store. Getting groceries is my one regular activity where I get to leave town. Leaving after school at 1PM, it is about a 60 mile drive on a dirt road and takes up the rest of the day. I look forward to it every Friday, a chance to get a bit of normalcy, whether its eating at my fried chicken spot or simply walking around a town. Grootfontein, isn’t large by any means but the streets are paved and its a goat free zone. These trips however, are also an exercise in patience.
Before we can leave Coblenz, we drive around to homes with the driver taking money and orders for various things. We pick up additional passengers packing the van to max capacity and then some. Its never a comfortable drive, I once had to sit on a beer crate on the return between the driver and passenger seat. It was really only difficult when the driver had to shift gears, 2nd gear was the worst, my leg just didn’t want to give up the space. In the middle of the drive one of the brake calipers clamped up, brought the van to a halt. Removing the tire took over an hour because of a busted tire iron. We ended up borrowing one from a passing truck. Removing the break took another hour as we had to borrow some tools from a second passing truck. Once the brake was off all of the brake fluid leaked out, pretty sure that wasn’t good for the remaining brakes that were functioning before. It was dark by now, and these deer like animals kept popping up on the road, keeping our speed down I made it home just shy of midnight. One of my longer trips to get groceries for sure.
There was the time we were heading back to Coblenz, car beyond full because of a funeral that was happening over the weekend, music was bumping and everyone was drinking. Things were going fine until a door popped open and we lost a passenger. After a few rolls in the dirt she stopped, we weren’t going that fast after all, maybe 15 mph or so. Figuring out everyones stuff to a good deal of time as well. The driver had a lot of orders that day and once we were in Coblenz it took about an hour for him to drop me off. I would have walked the three miles to my principals farm but it was dark and I had just bought things for my house. This trip was about 11 by the time I got home.
So the next time your out running errands be thankful you have your own car and that your neighbors do to.
So exciting to be reading along your journey! So amazing and makes you realize how many things are easily looked over purely because lack of effort made.
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