I am so very undeserving

Hello dear readers and wellwishers,

once again I have had issues with my car, and have been given pause to reflect. I was driving to work yesterday like nothing was wrong. Suddenly, my car died on me mid-block. I was not able to diagnose the problem, and was forced to call my woman LIZ to help me. She happened to have my daughter home because she has strep throat. She asked my brother if he could watch her while she went and got a van to help me puch my car al the way home. She saw a tow truck on the corner of the block. She made a quick deal to have the guy come get my car. As I waited, in the blowing wind, no less than 4 people pulled over to help me. I knew from previous expereince that it was either the alternator, or battery. I bought a new battery 2 months ago, so i guess the alternator. I only had an adjustable wrench on me, and when I tried that, nothing happend.

SOme friendly police pulled over to help. They asked me for ID, and I had none. My wife needed it to pick up a microwave we bought at Sears. Luckily, I am awesome. I recited my driver's liscense number to the cop who was about my age, and he went in the system to look me up. He then pulled out pusher bars from his trunk, and puched my car out of traffic. I would up in a parking lot, and Liz and her 2 sisters all showed up in a van. The mini-mall where I was had a Dunkin Doughnuts, so I went to get coffee. Once the towtruck arrived, i saw my litle car get thrown about and hoisted in the air. I got int he van and headed home.

It then hit me. This quite possibly was the end of the car. My little car died for what I thought was the last time. A overwhelming feeling of sadness came over me. Not because the car died on me and I was stranded, but because it was the end of a relationship that lasted since 1993. I have done evberything in that car, gone to high school, college, grad school, road trips, exploded the engine, been in horrible crashes and wrecks, and driven friends and family around. My relationship with my car has been one of the most enduring and tested relationships I have known.

In my old age I have discovered that as we grow up, things that you never thought would change often do so without you knowing it. Take friendships for example. I have been guilty of hanging out with a group of friends, and slowly withdrawing from the group to the dismay of the group. I was the first among my friends to have children. I was the first to own a house. I was the first to take steps into serious adulthood. I am so very blessed in my life. I do not deserve it, and I do not let a day go by without acknowledging it. I will say that I have a great family, great woman, and a great group of friends that understood that my priorities are not always in line with catching a few beers, going to family parties, or hanging out at Wal-mart. One relationship that I could depend on to be there for me was the one I had with my car. The relationship was threatened and I was in trouble.

Later on, My brother took less than 5 minutes to look at it, plugged in a few gauges and devices to test my car, and quickly diagnosed a fixable problem. I grinned like an IDIOT. My car it seems, may have new life again. With that relationship secured, I can begin to strenghten and develop the others. My car is old and tired, but it has miles that you cannot measure on an odometer. Try finding that a 2010 Toyota.