Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

Are you superstitious? Believe in signs? ''

Jay and I have been going to Kelley and Allen's house for Thanksgiving every year for enough years that it has become a tradition.  Until this year.  Our friend, Judy, usually goes with us and we take her van.  This year, she said she couldn't go, but offered us the van, anyway.  We decided to take my car, though, because we weren't sure her insurance would cover us in case of an accident.  The last thing I need is to have to replace or repaid her vehicle.

Besides, my car might be old, and I might feel like Ma Joad driving it anywhere out of town, but it has always been very reliable.  It just looks disreputable, as a car its age would. I don't look so good, myself.

Today was the day we were to go, and here we sit. My car, my oh, so reliable car, swarmed Monday.  It is going to cost $1100 to bring all the maintenance up to date, and that might not even fix the problem, because the mechanic has no idea what caused it to act up in the first place.  He just hopes that if he does an extensive tune-up, replaces all the decrepit hoses and filters, spark plugs, flushes the radiator and does something I don't understand to the transmission that the elusive problem will be taken care of, too.

It seems to me that there is a great deal of similarity between today's auto mechanics and today's doctors. If they can't plug you, or your car, into a machine for a diagnosis, they're lost as geese.

We didn't give up easily.  We looked into renting a car for a week and GAWDAMIGHTY! is it expensive! Then, before I could call Judy to see about borrowing her van after all, I got an e-mail from her saying the van broke down and she was on the hook for over $700 in repairs.

So, what do you think?  Did I just receive 3 very clear signs, telling me that my trip is not in the stars this year?

Stay tuned.