He's been talking about getting a different car now for quite some time. He says he can't afford a new car. He worries about money all the time. When you ask him questions about buying cars something closer to the truth comes out. What is closer to the truth is that he won't afford the type of car he wants. Buy American. Buy a mid-sized. Buy less of other things.

I have a hard type sympathizing with him. I drive a truck. I like trucks but I think driving a truck just because you're making some kind of style statement is moronic. I drive a truck because often I need to haul stuff; at the moment I don't wish to own two vehicles so I own the one I need the most - a truck. I could suck it up and get something else, something small and cheap because mostly I just drive within a five mile radius of my house. I could most likely get most of my transportation needs fulfilled by a scooter with a large basket.

The point - I could get another vehicle but I don't because I choose those other things that the cost of a second vehicle would hinder. I don't want to sacrifice, and that's his problem. He could afford a brand new car but he doesn't want to make a sacrifice.

And everyone has those types of dilemmas everyday - deal with it.

or at least stop bitching about it.

some people have real troubles

and neither of us make the list.

He overheard my on the phone with my mechanic.

"Here I am complaining about cars and you have problems too. I'm sorry, I didn't know." I just shrugged my shoulders because it's just a regular life thing.


...

The current problem with his twelve year old Grand Marquis, that was giving to him for free, is that the dome light (cabin light, inside light, overhead light) doesn't turn off completely all the time. He called a dealership and asked about it.

"Yeah, it's the weirdest thing." I overheard him say. I disagreed.

I don't think most people know what they are saying. I want to ask him, "Out of everything in the whole wide world, and even beyond, there is nothing weirder than your little light malfunctioning?

How about kind of weird? Sort of weird? A little weird? or even just plain old weird?

"Yeah, it's a weird thing." - which I still think is an overstatement but I would give you that.

Newsflash - Stuff breaks.


...

So, I was asked to do invites for the Summer version of what happened during the Fall. The fall version had leaves in Fall colors over a background of an orange starburst with a yellowish center - very Fall-like.

The Summer version...

I'll finish this later, maybe.


So, I brought my truck in for service. I was in desperate need of brakes, the engine light was on and also I received a recall notice about a ball joint.

"Tim?"

"Yup"

"Hi. It's Ken from *the truck fixing place*."

"Hi."

"Yeah, hi. We've got your truck in the shop and you need brakes, front brakes. The pads are completely gone and the right rotor is worn to almost nothing. The cost for front brakes is $442, and we might have to put on new calipers as well but they would be covered under your warranty. You would just have to play a $50 deductible."

"That's not too bad."

"We also noticed that one of your axles is leaking grease, so that will have to be replaced but that is also covered under your warranty, there would just be that $50 dollar deductible. So that's not bad news."

"No that's not bad at all."

"The engine light is on because *some computer thingy* is defective, so that will have to be replaced but that covered under a warranty with Federal emissions regulations."

"Wow"

"So there is some good news and some bad news. The good news is that a lot of things are covered under warranty but the bad news is that I don't have the parts and I'll have to get the axle from Detroit and that usually takes about four days to ship."

"Oh, well, I can do without the truck for a couple days."

"If you need a rental, your warranty covers that too, up to five days. You would just have to pay the Convention tax which everyone gets charged. It's about $10.50 per day."

So, I asked if he needed to know about the rental right then and there and he said that I could get it anytime, that I would just have to call ahead.

"So it's not too bad you're looking at the $442 plus the $50 deductible which will bring you just under $500" he continued.

"Wouldn't it be $50 twice, once for the brakes and then for the axle?"

"Nope, just $50 once, that's why you want to get it all done at once."

"That's great. Thanks a lot."

"Alright, I'll check in with you on Friday. If I don't hear from you about the rental."

"Okay, thanks very much."


...

My sister's cat was walking around kind of funny. I've seen that funny walk before, it not a funny ha ha walk. It was a walk like 'I won't be seeing much more of this world.'

The cat's walk reminds me in a way of when that certain color smoke starts billowing forth from under the car's hood. The smoke that is thick and darkish gray and seems impossibly voluminous. I remember the first time I saw that type of smoke, it was poring forth from one of my high school teacher's car. The smoke got worse and worse and then the flames burst forth. The second time I saw that smoke was when I was driving past a car on the highway, I thought to myself that the flames would be coming. A look in the rear view mirror proved I was correct. The third situation was similar to the second.

The first time I remember witnessing a cat walk like that was a stray kitten that I rescued from an air duct. I had gotten it to eat but it was walking a little strange. I awoke to find it dead. The second time I noticed that strange cat walk was with my oldest sister's cat. He lasted two days.