Passing The Test

Today is the day the people with the rubber hoses rule my life. My 1996 Oldsmobile (our newest car) flunked the DEQ (department of air quality) test set up by our friendly government. After several new parts on visa and wads of cash paid out to our mechanic, it still...didn't pass. Today is it. The last day we can legally drive the thing. Maddening part is..it drives FINE. Always starts. Sure the driver's side window no longer goes up or down, and the dash board rattles when you drive over 40, but who's picky? Owen our trusty mechanic and loyal friend replaced one more worn out hose and did everything his hand held computer told him was wrong with the silly thing. Now we just have to try again and pray. My question is, what do people do in this situation that have only one car? What if that car is the only one they have to get to work, and it runs fine but will not pass? They have two choices. Lose their jobs, or drive illegally. What kind of a choice is that? I'll admit it makes me want to go right out and buy a new car. Well, at least one that has less than 100,000 miles on it. That's really new to us. Trouble is the ads for those kinds of cars are worrying me. Here's a sample from the list I found yesterday:

Only needs one head gasket
A little hard to steer when turning left...
Smokes sometimes when you take off from sitting at an idel for a bit.
Car has a "rod knock" but the rest of the car is in real good shape.


Guess I'd better make sure the Oldsmobile passes. I'm driving right over there this morning. Don't worry I won't resort to trying to bribe a government official or anything. Although, there is a Krispy Kreme donut shop nearby....

That's My Story, and I'm Stickin To It!

Today is one of those days I'm not sure how to define. Happy? Sad? Or just wondering how it all works. I've had such an incredible high. Trouble is...I'm not sure what's next. I am so incredibly grateful for the blessing. I won the Erma Bombeck Humorwriter's Award. Me. It was just a year ago I sat in that big ballroom at the writer's conference in Dayton, Ohio honoring Erma. I looked around at all of those people who had been "published" and wondered if I would ever get there. Wondered how disiplined they were, how many degrees they had, what they ate for breakfast. Stuff like that. I still can't believe it. And the best part is, I won with a story about my mom. That's so cool. It feels like, even in death, she's helping me. She's still connecting. I knew she'd find a way. She was that kind of mom. But what now? What is God telling me to do next? I tried working on some stories today, but I found out something. Writing is hard, brain splitting work. I treasure the days the words just come pouring out of my head, like when the kids flood a bowl of lettuce with ranch salad dressing that overflows and seeps between the crack in the table and drips down to the floor. That kind. It's hard to sit at the keyboard and not think about our blue oldsmobile that won't start because maybe it needs a new alternator, but the mechanic isn't sure, which is after we already put $300 into it, and it still wouldn't pass DEQ and what are we gonna do because we only have till the end of the month before the plates expire, and then the good car the Mazda...the 17 year old van, was boiling over last Saturday when I returned home from a two hour drive on the freeway. Well anyway...it's hard to concentrate sometimes. But I will. Honest. Because I heard it said that we should be grateful for what we have. And what I have is the greatest award I could ever dream of. I owe for that. I will keep on plugging away. That is, as soon as I go upstairs and eat something. In the meantime...here's my story! http://www.wclibrary.info/erma/2007globalhumor.asp

Go Melinda Doolittle!

I just can't believe it. I know, I know this has no doubt been already blogged to death, but really. How could they dump Melinda Doolittle on American Idol? I rarely tuned in...really! But, the few times I caught her tunes, I actually agreed with Simon...she has it. So why did twenty million people decide to vote her off? Can we really believe the network? Hmmm. I guess what really worries me is the thought that these same people may be voting for our next president. Let's just hope without sequins and a back up band...they just won't bother. In the meantime... you go Melinda....you're gonna be a star!