In 2005 while attempting to drive home from Hudson Valley Community College, I accidentally caused a traffic jam on Menands Rd, I backed up traffic from Loudonville to Troy. 

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I was driving a black Ford Corsica that was a hand-me-down from my brother, my father is the type of man that is dead against taking a car to a garage. "Their all crooks!" He always says.

The car was on it's way out, it began stalling out when ever I tried to accelerate and when it did, it felt like the engine was trying to jump out from under the hood so it could lay down on the side of the road and die.

I was taking Spring courses at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, I dreaded going up and down the hill with my little 'Corsica that could.' Fortunately the car never stalled on the hill.

One Thursday afternoon while heading home the car began stalling out at traffic lights, I told my father about it earlier, but he told me to drive it until the weekend and then he would take a look at it.

I drove the car very carefully across the Troy-Menands Bridge, holding my breath as I barely touched the gas peddle, hoping that I could just roll along New York 378 to Menands Rd, I made it over the bridge and then the engine started to rattle. I pulled over just before the overpass near Broadway in Menands, the car had completely shut down.

After 20 minutes of trying to get the Corsica going again I gave up, but I did not have a phone, so I had to abandon the car, I hopped the rail and scurried down the hill toward the Price Chopper on Broadway to use the pay phone to call Dad for help.

He arrived 40 minutes later and ignored my suggestion to call a Tow truck, because he somehow got the car to start again. He did not convince me that the car would make it home, but I had no other choice, there is no arguing with a Vietnam Vet/Postal Worker. So I got in and started driving, with my Dad in his car behind me.

Coincidentally the car started to warn me that it was about to die right in front of Albany Rural Cemetery, but it did not die there, that would of been convenient. Instead the Corsica died at the traffic light on the corner of the intersection as I was about to turn right onto New Loudon Rd.

My Dad went ahead and pulled over on New Loudon in front of the little park on the corner, he made me try to start the car back up for 10 minutes before he finally gave in and said "I guess we have to call a Tow truck."

He said that he was going to go back to our house in Latham by Forts Ferry to use the phone there, he left me alone sitting in the car at 4pm, blocking all traffic.

As I sat there with my caution lights on, people began to drive around me at first while shouting obscenities at me. I sat in the car and watched the traffic behind me slowly begin build up. A nice girl eventually pulled over and got out of her car to make sure I was alright, I explained to her what was going on and she offered to help, but there was nothing she could do.

20 minutes went by, and I could no longer see where the line of cars that had come to a dead stop on Menands Rd ended. The police showed up eventually, and wanted to know if I were on drugs, but that also would of been convenient. I was not on drugs, I had taken the advice of a Vietnam Vet/Postal Worker.

The cops lectured me for 20 more minutes until the Tow truck finally arrived, my Dad was no where in sight, the Tow truck brought me home where I was greeted by my Dad who said " You had traffic backed up all the way to Hudson Valley!" He laughed " There was no way I was going to go back there, they would of blamed me, I don't know how you sat there and put up with it."

Thanks Dad....

 

 

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