Now about the Jalopy.

Last week, i believe it was on Thursday, i realized Sweetie needed to run an errand.  

(He's retired, and often bored, and he wants to be out doing things, and when he gets a little on the crabby side, i know he needs to run an errand, both to give him something to do and get him out from  underfoot.)

Thus i asked him to go put some gas in the Jalopy, and while he was out, go get some bread and milk and coffee.  He was thrilled to have something to do.

He came back and was in a much better mood, and i didn't have to be concerned about getting gas predawn on my way to Bible study the next morning.

The next morning, Friday, i got in the Jalopy to go to said Bible study, and my check engine light was on.  Yes, i just had the tie rods done on Wednesday, and also paid for an oil change and work on Bigger Girl's Cicero.  Now what, was all i could wonder.

Saturday morning, i hied myself to Kevin and Lenny's and asked Lenny, who had duty that day, to please find out what was wrong now while i sat and tried not to think the worst.

As the moments ticked on, i knew it couldn't be good.  It only takes them about 5 minutes to hook up the little gadget to the car's computer and figure out what a check engine light means.  Because i am in there all of the time, they do it for me on the fly sometimes, as i pull in, ask for a reading, arrange for the parts to be ordered, and drive off with an appointment to come back later.  They don't even charge me for it and most places do.

After about an hour and a half, one of the mechanics came in, handed me the keys, and said, "You're good to go!"

What?

Lenny smiled from behind his counter.  "It was registering a leak in the gas line somewhere, and I had a new gas cap sent over from my distribution warehouse, hoping that was it.  It was!"

How much? i asked.

"For a simple gas cap, nothing," he answered.  After thanking him, i left, glad it was so easy, and nothing awful after all.

Thinking back, too, i realized what had happened.  Sweetie doesn't mind pumping gas, but he does mind having to hold the lever on the gas pumps.  He went to the closest gas station to our house, which usually has a competitive price but is notorious for not keeping their pumps in the best order.  Most of them have very hard to read screens that they will not replace, and the little metal flaps that holds the levers up are missing on almost all of them.

When he uses that station to fill his tank, he takes his gas cap and crams it in the handle to hold the lever up, and about once a year he needs a new gas cap because this bends his out of shape.

He had bent mine out of shape, and thus the check engine light came on.

It won't be happening again, though.  Not because i fussed, although i did laugh with him over what happened and asked him not to abuse my gas cap that way again.  Not because i won't be asking him to get gas again, since it's such a convenient way to give him a quick errand that lightens his mood.

No, it won't happen again because, when Lenny got the cap sent over, it was the kind that has a plastic "strap" that hooks to the car.  Because of the strap, it can't reach to be used in that way.

Lenny's not just kind, he's smart.

Today is:

Another Look Unlimited Day -- sponsored by Envira Myntyl, a day to look around and see what you don't need and can donate to charity, to lessen the flow to landfills

Armed Forces Day -- Sao Tome and Principe

Concordia Fall Festival -- Concordia, MO (celebrating agriculture and the German heritage of the area; through Saturday)

Defense Day -- Pakistan

Ear and Trumpter Contests for Mice -- Fairy Calendar

Festa Della Rificolona -- Florence, Italy (one of Florences oldest and most colorful celebrations; through tomorrow)

Fight Procrastination Day/National Do It Day

Flag Day -- Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

National Boss/Employee Exchange Day -- US (or anyone else who wants to foster understanding between bosses and employees, trade places for a day and see how the other half lives!)

National Coffee Ice Cream Day -- Sweetie swears the best ever was at Howard Johnson Restaurants back in the day

Paryushana Parva -- Jain (eight day festival signifying human emergence into a new world of spiritual and moral refinement, and a celebration of the natural qualities of the soul; local observances of the dates can vary)

Play Days -- sponsored by the HUMOR Project, add humor to your life; through Saturday 

Read A Book Day -- can't find the history on it, but enjoy!

Rhishi Panchami -- Nepal (continuation of the women's festival, a holiday for Female Employees Only)

Sacrifice to Hera Thelchinia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Somhlolo Day -- Swaziland (Independence Day)

South Carolina Apple Festival -- Westminster, SC, US (through Saturday)

St. Magnus of Fussen's Day (Patron of crops; against caterpillars, hail, lightning, reptiles, vermin)

Stillbirth Remembrance Day -- Canada (some Provinces); US

Unification Day -- Bulgaria


Birthdays Today:

Justin Whalin, 1974
Sarah Strange, 1974
Rosie Perez, 1964
Elizabeth Vargas, 1962
Jeff Foxworthy, 1958
Jane Curtin, 1947
Swoosie Kurtz, 1944
Jo Anne Worley, 1937
Billy Rose, 1899
Joseph P. Kennedy, 1888
Jane Addams, 1860
Catharine Esther Beecher, 1800
John Dalton, 1766
Marquis de Lafayette, 1757
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, 1711


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp"(TV), 1955
Jack Dempsey/Billy Miske Boxing Match(First match broadcast on radio), 1920
"La clemenza di Tito/The Clemency of Titus"(Opera, Mozart K. 621), 1791


Today in History:

The Victoria, the only surviving ship of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, returns to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world, 1522
The Spanish "Silver Fleet" disappears off the Florida Keys, 1622
Founding of Salem, Massachussetts, 1628
The first US lighthouse is built in Boston, 1716
Hurricane hits Martinique and Guadalupe, hundreds of ships sink and thousands die on land and at sea, 1776
Thomas Blanchard patents the lathe, 1819
Oberlin Collegiate Institute of Ohio becomes co-ed, with 4 women and 30 men in attendance, 1837
Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807, 1870
Juliana becomes Queen of the Netherlands, 1948
Canada's first television station, CBFT-TV, opens in Montreal, 1952
Nine Israeli athletes are killed during a rescue attempt after being kidnapped at the Munich Olympic Games; two had died during the kidnapping the day before, 1972
The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: 
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and restores the name St. Petersburg to Russia's second largest city, 1991
Cal Ripken Jr of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that stood for 56 years, 1995
Diana, Princess of Wales is laid to rest in front of a television audience of more than 2.5 billion, 1997
China launches an investigation into its commercial pilots upon learning that more than 200 of them had falsified their resumes, 2010
Central Australia reports the first sighting since 1960 of a Central rock rat, 2013