Mass Transit

So, the red wagon has finally bit the dust. It has been on a steady decline ever since I started driving it back in October. When Andy was living with us, he had all kinds of problems, too. First, it started when the Tuckahoe Police Department impounded my plates because I hadn't transferred the vehicle into my name yet and the registration expired. It took about two whole days at the DMV to get that straightened out. Once the car was finally in my name, that was all she wrote. Not one, but two fuel injectors are leaking now (hence the strong smell of gasoline while driving). I should be more accurate, they don't leak - they sputter...gasoline. I took it to my mechanic to have a look, the damage would be around $450. His suggestion - save my money for a new vehicle, and in the meantime, invest in a fire extinguisher.
The next thing to catch my attention was the brakes. This really isn't that big of a deal, it was just one more thing to add to the list of items that needed to be addressed. Shortly after that, it severely overheated on me, even though I had plenty of oil and fluid, too. After trying a couple of things I thought I was going to be okay, so I drove it to work...and there it sits. When I tried to drive it home on Monday, I couldn't even get to the end of the street. Today as I walked by the car, I noticed a trickle of antifreeze leading away from the car and traced it to its origin. Now we can safely add a leaky/cracked radiator to the mix.

I think its time to go shopping for a new mode of transportation...

It's a small world, even in NYC.

Work on Saturday took "crazy" to a whole new level. In the midst of coordinating a furniture delivery for Katrina evacuee families, I met someone who has a mutual acquaintance. Last week, my work was part of a collaboration of 11 different nonprofit agencies that pulled off a huge event without too many hitches. One of those agencies was the City of New York Office of Emergency Management (OEM). The main contact person I was working with all day Saturday from OEM was Ben Whitfield. Throughout the day we engaged in a little small talk and eventually found out that his father-in-law teaches Greek and New Testament at a Christian college in Atlanta. Thinking the coincedence too great, I asked if his name was Barry Blackburn. As it turns out, Ben is married to Dr. Blackburn's daughter Bonnie - that's just weird. We were both a little surprised to have made the connection. Who would have thought that of all the places you might run into someone associated with ACC that it would be through doing relief work with the City of New York!