FIX IT

Well, The Flaming Bore's Saturn is in the hospital today, and the prognosis is going to shut down our plans to hit up Glacier National Park this fall. I didn't understand all the technical jargon, but I did figure out that it's going to cost about $1,100.00 to fix the automatic gear shifting computer system, yada, yada, yada. The new computer wasn't even in stock, so we had to leave the car in Wichita and take a rental back home. It's a roomy Toyota Camry with all the bells and whistles that impress people like Big Bore but are pooh-poohed by the auto-phobic like me. I refuse to drive it. I'm afraid I'll mistake "drive" for "reverse" and slam it into the nearest concrete wall. If I need to go anywhere between now and tomorrow afternoon, I will walk or ride my bicycle.

I try to take surprises like this in stride. There are so many more worse problems one could have than a car with a bum shifting system. Grin and bear it, pay the blasted bill, and keep on truckin'--as we used to say in the old days. This, too, shall pass until the next repair bill comes along.