The Good News

Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!

This is one of those good news/bad news tales. Fortunately it's the other way around-- bad news/good news. My old Buick puked last night. It was getting up there in age, though. I mean, I've had it for 9 months. It's got like, wow, almost 9,000 miles on it. So I knew it was gonna happen sooner or later. I was exiting the parking lot of the local Staples store when the car stalled. I re-started and headed out into traffic only to find the car huffing and chuffing. Lo and behold the cutest little tiny engine-shaped dash light came on. So far, the bad news.

First, by way of disclaimer, no one has looked at the car yet so I don't know what's wrong. (Who knows? Perhaps, in a catatonic state of sellers remorse after getting rid of my big truck, I pumped diesel into to the car's tank the other morning. Unlikely but I'll be patient and wait to find out.)

Now for the good news: As fortune would have it on that full moon night, the GM dealer was still open and just 50 yards ahead. There are a lot of complaints one could lodge with respect to lifestyle and quality of life issues living in a town the size of mine. But here's one for the "plus" column. Having purchased more than a couple of vehicles through this dealer they do know me. Even so, walking through the showroom door 10 minutes before closing I was very happy to find the finance guy there to greet me with a great big hello and a handshake. Less than10 minutes later, he's got a dealer plate on a brand new car off the lot and I'm tooling home in a Camaro.

I don't know what's wrong with the "big" Buick that can't-fit-a-set-of-golf-clubs-into-the-trunk-at-any-angle but I expect to find out today. The really nice thing in this was being reminded of the many great pleasures living in this small town. Like a large multi-make car dealer that is happy to hand the owner of a broken vehicle the set of keys to a brand new car for the ride home with nothing more than a wave and a handshake.

The other good news? It's year end clearance time.