Now, before any of you start making utterances about women drivers and all that malarky, let me fill you in on a few details here.
The route I drive everyday in the pursuit of making the lunchtimes of the locality a moment of gourmet magic is in the main on country roads. One of these 'highways' in particular is liable to flooding in a number of places. There is a longer route but after more than a few arguements with boss #2 I gave in and did as I was told i.e. "not waste time (time is money yada, yada, yada) driving the extra miles" and instead plough on through the floods when they occur. Assured as I was that a diesel angine won't give out because it has no distributor! Now this guy is supposed to be a time served mechanic among other things but even I know that engines are more complicated than that but having argued my corner, drive through I did...on numerous occasions over the last month.
Today was different. The heavens opened and my route flooded 'very nicely' in the middle of nowhere and as ever I gritted my teeth and went for it....only to come to a grinding halt in the middle of a flood maybe a foot deep, ten car lengths in width and a considerable length. This flood took over the road, went up the bank and carried on into the woods at either side.
So what was I to do? I was stranded in the pouring rain and my only route for escape was to wade out...yeah right, fat chance. I called my boss, the one who instructed me that the van wouldn't give up and requested rescuing...he was not impressed and as I had suspected might be the case (with his parents being the other partners in the business) he started trying desperately to wriggle out of responsibility for the debacle first claiming he hadn't advised me to drive through and then that he hadn't realised 'which flood I meant' (despite having claimed to have drive through it himself on many occasions)!
And sit in my small lake I did, with the water rising
above the doors and gradually seeping in...and I waited and waited and waited....
In the meantime the rain continued to pour down and other traffic wishing to use the route intermittently pulled up infront of me flashing lights or 'hooting', presumably to get me to shift (this is a one track road). Now forgive my ignorance here but there I was, knee deep in a small lake, stuck smack, bang in the middle of the road with my hazzard warning lights on..what exactly were they expecting me to do? Did they imagine I was sat there for the good of my health? Was my predicament not apparent to even the most stupid of individuals?
A large pick up even turned up, two builders got out, stood at the edge of my personal 'lake', asked me what had happened, then laughed.....and drove off. Hello.....it might have been nice to offer me a tow or at least have 'rescued' me from my cab!
Finally my boss appeared looking none too pleased and failing completely to grasp the principle that this was his fault....and he had come without a two rope!!! FFS!!!.
At this point my patience was wearing a tad thin-ish and I was very cold and wet so I pointed out that he might like to drive himself to a local garage where he might find assistance. He did...leaving me behind still stranded in my cab, the thought that I might be getting just a tiny bit disgrunteld
I won't bore you with the rest but suffice to say two very nice guys in a truck arrived sometime later and hauld me and my van to dry land and then to their garage where the van was pronounced D.O.A. Yup, I told him it would happen, I argued with him time after time but he wouldn't have it and yet, somehow now, it is deemed my fault that the white van from hell needs a new engine and is considered a write off!!
Belive me, I have made my position and my feelings crystal clear. If I had been idiot enough to choose that course of action for myself as opposed to under his insistent instruction I would be only to happy to take the fall...... but 'new girl' or not I'm not having this pinned on me and if I have to walk I will. I am livid. It's bad enough that he was so stupid but to now try and wriggle free of the responsibility for the outcome infuriates me....it's not gonna happen I promise you.
Hey...on the upside I get a different van tomorrow, surely it can't be any worse....can it?
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