On May 17th, 2024, “Big Bertha” (my vehicle), she is a 2016 Ford Escape Titanium model with Turbocharge and I pulled out of the garage at 3 am heading to Wilmington, N.C. I find driving at that time great! There is very little traffic, except for a few trucks. I was traveling to witness the marriage of my Nephew Matthew to Shyonia (Shay). They are Officers in the United States Army, I am proud to say Matthew became an Army Ranger a few months ago.

The drive was just a little over 9 hours, my Aunt Mattie was concerned because I was going alone. She was a little relieved when I informed her Sally, my weapon was riding with me. Once I hit 95 S it was a straightforward drive until I reached the Wilmington exit.

My youngest Brother Barron with his family, Matthew is his youngest Son, had arrived on Thursday, the 16th. Brad, my middle brother had flown into Charlotte and drove down with Brian. I was excited to be adding to the Broomfield family line, and looking forward to Matt’s wedding and seeing family.

I arrived in Wilmington at 2:20 pm and checked into my hotel, I called Brian, who had an Air BnB, and told him I would be over after a shower. I was hungry but nothing was around me except fast food, which my y’all know I don’t eat. Thank goodness Brian had some boneless chicken wings and I consumed those before dinner. I hung out for a while after dinner, which was spaghetti, and bread that Brian made.

The next morning, Saturday, we all met for brunch, my Cousin Michael, and his Daughter Sabrina, joined us. We ate at the Blueberry Grille, which had a menu that made it hard to choose, the brunch cocktails were unique too, I chose a Lilac Mimosa. More of the family would be arriving later that night.

Saturday evening was a cookout at an Air BnB rented by Shay’s mother. Brian grilled, ribs, chicken, and sausages, other folk had made, Mac N Cheese, collard greens, yams, and cornbread. Brian’s twins, Justin and Jeremy were celebrating their 30th birthday as well. I got them a birthday cake made out of cupcakes, and they were surprised!

I made my way back to my hotel at about 11:30 pm and crashed! The next morning, the family met for brunch, Michaels wife Mary, my Niece Brandi and her husband Trey, and my Niece Dawn and her husband V joined us. It was wonderful seeing family I had not seen in years. We all had a lot of catching up to do. The wedding was at 4 pm, it was time to go our separate ways and get glammed up!

The wedding was held at the Elia, a well-known venue in downtown Wilmington. There was no parking lot, however, in Wilmington, the meters are free on Sundays. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful and ended with jumping the broom. It had been requested that the wedding not be videoed. I cried of course, and Brad came to my rescue handing me his handkerchief.

After the wedding, we were directed to a front room which had a few high-top tables, a full bar, and appetizers. I took pictures and had great conversations as I circled the room. The sit-down dinner was the bomb and delicious. After dinner the DJ had the dance floor rocking, I had my blinged-out Converse in tow so I danced all night.

At 1 am the party was over, Brad walked me to my car as I searched for my key. I discovered I didn’t have my fob, I thought I must have left it in my car. No problem, I had AAA and made a call to have the car unlocked. The technician arrived, unlocked my vehicle, and to my shock the fob was not in the car. No one had turned it in at the venue either, I started to panic and then went into problem-solving mode. Brian dropped me off at my hotel.

I checked out of the hotel and got a Lyft back to my car, I immediately started calling locksmiths. When number three arrived he was the first to tell me a regular Escape fob would not work on the Ford Titanium model because it has a high security key. I called number 4 and he could not get the correct fob to link.

I almost gave up and considered having my car towed to the dealership, my intuition popped in and said, call one more. I called Intercoastal Locksmith, Eric the owner tested everything including the battery. He found the battery to be low from the alarm going off and needed to be charged, he proceeded to do so.

I bought my car used and never knew the door code, it needed to be reset for the new fob to work. Eric found the panel for the alarm and reset that. with the battery charged and the code reset, he tried the fob he had. Thank God it started right up, 480 dollars later I was ready to get on the road to the DMV, where I was spending the next few days.

In case you are wondering, I never did find my fob, but my guardian angels were with me. I would go through it all again to witness Matt and Shay’s beautiful wedding. May they have a long and prosperous life together!!!

Until next time,

Peace Love and Blessings❤️