Dear Jake,

As if the day couldn't get anymore exciting, I drove down to the barn around noon, intending on meeting Jim and getting Rodder's feet done (the horse the Webb's were leasing then basically abandoned--I'll tell that story another time), and when I pull up to the gate I note my check engine light is on. You know I am completely paranoid and an insane dunce when it comes to my car. In my mind that is something you should be taking care of. I mean, some man, but mainly you. I head right out the other side of the driveway and into Waldorf to have this nuisance checked out. I get to Jiffy Lube and think about getting my car serviced the day we slept in the barn, going to buy bedding that would absolutely not keep us warm...shake my head. They charge me $90 for a freaking diagnostic. I hate that. I mean, it's just wrong. The last thing you need when you know something likely needs to be fixed (and with me it's always something expensive) is being charged an arm and a leg for some jerk to take ten minutes to tell me what's wrong. I mean, $90??? That's like $540 an hour!! Are you kidding me? Are you a Lawyer? I don't make that in a week...sigh, calm down, I should have been an auto mechanic.

I am joking on the phone with Debbie that it's going to be something that costs like 25 cents but cost a hundred bucks to diagnose hahaha only then the guy comes in and tells me blah blah blah spark plugs blah blah blah engine and the total is going to come to $500!!! Holy lord! Do I look like I have...money? Let alone the price of a dead lame broken down thoroughbred? I think not. So I whip out my trusty credit card, which I tell him specifically I have no idea if it even has that much left on it, and he says Oh, yeah, it'll be two hours.

Oh, no, I don't think so. The one thing I have less of than money is time. I ask him if it'll last till the weekend. He reassures me that it will. He says something about wires and it triggers the memory that I swear I just had this done like a year and a half ago after I moved back from Dublin. He tells me to call the ford dealer where I had the work done to check and see if it's the same work and if it might still be under warranty. I really appreciate that kind of thing, he certainly didn't have to suggest I save my money and double check. I love guys like this, you know, honest guys. They are few and far between. I thought you were one, now I just think you might be one someday. Still better than the multitude of people I know will always be horrible. But this is probably all just the anger speaking because you left me and aren't here to deal with this kind of stuff.