Journey Inside My Mind ™

So Google Video is doing the way of the dinosaur. I got an email saying that I could transfer videos I’d uploaded to YouTube.

Back in 2005 we had just gotten our first video camera and were looking for ways to experiment with making video. While driving home from the store one afternoon, we were listening to some music, and our daughter Keisha started making her doll Noelle rock out to it. Jennie was sitting in the back and caught it on video camera.

I took the video and put it behind the the 60-second intro of “No Use Denying” by the Cool Waters Band. Since that time, the CWB is no longer together, and the website mentioned in the video is no longer around – everything has been moved to journeyinsidemymind.com.

Originally released December 2005 to the Journey Inside My Mind podcast.

Take two grown kids, put them in separate cars, have them drive halfway across the country for the first time. In severe weather. The result? This story (17:31).

Situation: Our 1993 Saturn SL2 needs brake job. It’s our only car. I work in Dayton but live in Cincinnati. We got a rental from Enterprise, and it has working A/C and a CD player. We dropped our car off at the mechanic’s shop in Mount Healthy last night, and I drove the car to work this morning.

Normally, I’d listen to podcasts through my iRiver. I opted instead today to bring some CDs from home. I am so glad I did. I came into the office today so fired up from listening to Her Majesty from Sophia Ramos and Beer & Coffee from Matthew Ebel. Specifically, the following songs, in order, just made the hour-long commute so much more bearable (links to the iTunes Music Store):

Off Sophia Ramos’s album, “Her Majesty”

1. “Black Madonna”
2. “What I Do Know”
3. “Esperanza”
4. “Kill Your Pain”
5. “Torn Down”

Off Matthew Ebel’s album, “Beer and Coffee”

1. “I Know You're There”
2. “Trees”
3. “Nothing”
4. “Latté Days & Porter Nights”

Why not spend some coffee money and pick up some of these tunes? Or buy the albums – they’re both rock-solid.

To Sophia and Matthew — thank you so much again for sharing your talents. You both rock!!

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr sophia+ramos matthew+ebel daniel+johnson+jr

Mood: nostalgic
Listening to: quiet
Reading: Who Let the Blogs Out?: A Hyperconnected Peek at the World of Weblogs
Eating: nothing – feeling hungry

I’m inside the main branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Being here brings back a lot of memories. The library has changed considerably since I was a child, but some of it is still the same.

I used to catch the 17 bus from home to downtown. I would sometimes come down here with my best friend David Mixon, other times accompanied by his younger brother Adam, and still other times by myself. This library was one of the coolest places to hang out. I even had dreams about things happening down here.

• I remember poring over the items in the Films and Recordings department. I recall vividly searching through the card catalog drawers to find some interesting music. Other times, I’d browse the LPs and cassettes – CDs weren’t around that much just yet. I remember testing some LPs on the record player they had set up, to see if I really wanted to check out the record.
• Another time I remember spending a lot of time down here was in my junior year of high school, while working on my English term paper on Miles Davis. I would spend entire days up in the Arts and Literature department on the third floor, poring over materials. I would often listen to music I’d put on cassettes in my Walkman.
• Yet another time I was reminded of just this morning was when I’d graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1994 and was looking for a job. I spent a lot of time at the Government and Business department back then. I remember, after learning of an interview I had with Alcoa Building Products in Sidney, Ohio, looking through scores of newspaper articles and other publications to find out anything I could about the company. Looking through microfiche and other materials, I’d print out and make copies of pages for my company research, back before the internet was really mainstream.
• And then again, after receiving a job offer, I remember coming back to the G&B department to research the kind of car I wanted to get, spending lots of time going over reliability reports and insurance information.

I’m really impressed by all the changes to the downtown library, especially as I look at all the computers and the addition to the building that was done several years ago. Films and Recordings is now on the first floor. The Mezzanine, which used to be a paperback book area, is now a snack area and gift shop. The card catalog has been replaced on the first floor by a bank of computers. The checkout is no longer right at the both exits, but instead in a more central area.

Yet as I walk through this building, I still see younger versions of me doing the things I used to do so long ago.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr cincinnati library nostalgia

Time for a true “journey inside my mind“…

Since the beginning of this year I have been bouncing back and forth from Cincinnati – where I live – to Dayton, where I work. That long commute has made me a “captive audience” for a lot of portable, on-demand programming (affectionately known as “podcasts”). I usually listen to music podcasts at work so that I can concentrate on my programming duties, and I like to listen to talk-type programming during the commute.

There are some programs I listen to only because I like to hear the passion in the podcasters’ voices. I could care less about the content, and in many ways, I really don’t like it at all. What I DO like, however, is the passion and excitement they convey, whether it’s from ranting about something that bugs them, or extolling the praises of something they love.

I noticed again on the commute up to work that I’d gotten distracted from the program I was listening and was thinking of my own ideas for things. It’s not that the content was boring me; au contraire mon frere! As often is the case, I heard something on one of these programs and it sparked some creativity.

My iRiver has a recorder on it, and I’ve often recorded my thoughts to capture them for later.

Where are you the most creative?

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind, journeyinsidemymind, jimm, daniel+johnson+jr, commute, creativity, idea+generation, cincinnati, dayton, podcasting

We’re in the middle of a second winter storm. I thought the Groundhog didn’t see his shadow, and that meant we’re supposed to have an early spring… Anyhow. Cincinnati has seen a lot of freezing rain in the past 24 hours, with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark (32 degrees F, 0 degrees C). Dangerous conditions to be sure, not only from the ice on the roadways, but also ice on tree limbs and power lines. It’s actually a bit creepy, hearing the heavy tree limbs brushing against the roof of our apartment building.

As I sit here looking out the window, I see trees encased in ice. In the courtyard behind us sit several large branches that have fallen to the ground, not able to hold the weight of the ice. Power had been flickering on and off throughout the day yesterday and actually went out around 7 PM last night, right after I’d just returned from the store. It was out for several hours and finally came back on in the middle of the night.

I worked from home yesterday, and it looks like I’ll be working from home again today. I know that many of my coworkers are not as fortunate, so my heart goes out to them.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr cincinnati winter+storm 2007 winter+storm trees

I just spent 3-1/2 hours driving 60 miles from north of Dayton, Ohio to my home in Cincinnati. That averages to just over 17 miles per hour. On the highway. In a snowstorm. Right now we have about 6 inches on the ground.

Fortunately, I had some great podcasts to listen to along the way! Such as

• Canadian Podcast Buffet
• FeedBurner Podcast
• That Tickles!
• CatFish Show
• School of Podcasting’s Morning Announcements

I also opted to call the following podcaster’s comment lines and leave messages:

• Dancing with Elephants (three separate times, maybe? lol)
• Accident Hash
• The Zedcast
• The Daddycast
• Daily Source Code
• Ed’s Mixed Bag
• That Tickles
• Kids Wife Work Life
• High Orbit
• Coverville
• PodShow Music Rewind
• Find Your Ideal Career Podcast

Driving distance: 60 miles
Driving time: 3-1/2 hours
Having you podcasters to keep me company during a snowstorm: Priceless

Thank you all for keeping me company. I didn’t need a radio.

Related tags: ohio snow+storm podcasting daniel+johnson+jr

Mood: sleepy
Listening to: rain outside, radio in the bedroom
Weather right now: 72 degrees F, Thunderstorm

The driver’s side window in our car won’t go up or down, and it’s stuck down at about 3 to 4 inches. When we park the car, we usually put some plastic over the gap to help keep rain from coming inside.

I don’t know what I’m going to do this morning as I make the 1-hour plus drive to Dayton. Also, not sure about the defroster, since we have this gaping hole where the dashboard vent system used to be.

It’s going to be an interesting morning. I’d better spend some time with God.

Our car sits in the church parking lot tonight. The engine would not turn over, and it didn’t need a jump start. My initial hunch is that the starter is bad. It is, after all, a 13-year old car, so I wouldn’t be surprised that is the case:

Fortunately we were leaving from a midweek service, and fortunately there were other people around us willing to get us home, especially Kelly.

Maybe it just needs to rest. We’ll need to figure out how to get to it tomorrow and then to get it to a repair shop, and to get the repairs needed.

Car problems are very frustrating, and I’d probably be worried sick if I didn’t have Jennie around. For some reason, knowing that we’re going through this together helps.

Didn’t Jesus say, “Do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will have enough problems of its own.”?

Mood: sleepy
Listening to: nothing
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5)
Eating: nothing yet
Watching: nothing

Some people just write “Wash Me” on the window of a dusty car. This guy does artwork. Very good artwork.

via Rocketboom

Mood: grateful, relieved, superblessed
Listening to: Jennie calling Keisha inside for dinner
Eating: spaghetti with grilled veal steaks
Watching: (later) the series finale of ‘Alias’

Jennie’s maternal uncle came by this afternoon and fixed our car. All that needed replacing was a fan belt, and apparently it was really easy (for him) to fix. Yay! Our car runs even quieter than it had been. And he charged us a really really really good rate for his service.

I just came back from testing it out on Colerain to Ronald Reagan Highway to Blue Rock, back to Galbraith. No problems whatsoever! YEE HAA!!!!

Mood: slightly surrenedered, tired, and still a bit congested
Listening to: 11 o’clock news
Reading: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)
Eating: bbq turkey, dressing, carrots and broccoli – water to drink
Watching: season finale of Desperate Housewives – The Complete Second Season

Our car, the 1993 Saturn we bought back in January, is broken. Fortunately, it’s in front of our home. One of the fan belts has frayed and is broken, which explains why the car got overheated so quickly and the battery light was on.

So, Jennie’s got a cab ride to work tonight and probably home tomorrow morning. Her uncle is a mechanic, and he said he’d call us tomorrow morning. Hopefully he can diagnose what’s best for the car, and even more hopefully, it won’t cost a lot to get fixed.

Earlier today Jennie and Keisha were about to go to church, when Jennie decided to come back home, too tired to make the drive. I was in bed, still feeling ill. We see that as a blessing.

Mood: alert, but with tired eyes
Listening to: cars driving on wet pavement outside the window
Reading: see below
Eating: spaghetti with sauce, mushrooms, and chicken steak, and steamed broccoli, with some Miller Lite to wash it down

I went to the library on my way home from work. Going to a different branch than I normally go to from time to time is nice. Different surroundings and different selections.

I’d called the branch when I was still in the Dayton area to see if they had a DVD of Mr. Holland’s Opus, one of our family’s all-time favorite movies.

I dropped off

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3),
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2-Disc Full Screen Edition) (Harry Potter 3), and
some other children’s book Keisha had checked out

I then browsed the non-fiction section for a book on personal finance for dummies, idiot’s guide to personal finance, or K.I.S.S. guide to personal finance, but didn’t find anything like that.

Instead I wound up checking out

Mr. Holland’s Opus,
Cats for Dummies,
Time Management for Dummies, Second Edition,
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Magic Tricks, and
KISS: Behind the Mask – Official Authorized Biography

The movie, as I mentioned earlier, was one I had the librarian pull for me. The books I found while browsing the shelves. Here’s why I picked each book:

Cats for Dummies – we know our cat Zoe talks to us and communicates to us with meows and purrs and other actions, but we’re not exactly sure if we understand what she’s saying

Time Management for Dummies – in the past I’ve gotten really into this kind of thing, but I got it this time more for browsing, not sure if I’d make the time to really read it. Who knows?

Idiot’s Guide to Magic Tricks – one of my recurring hobbies, maybe I’ll find something simple to do to thrill Keisha or one of her friends

KISS: Behind the Mask – when I was 7-9 years old, I was a KISS fanatic. I remember tracing the album cover of “Rock And Roll Over” on some notebook paper. My friends and I would pretend we were members of the band whenever we’d play together and listen to the music together. I remember Jamie was Gene Simmons, Rob was Ace, Gary was Paul, and I was Peter Criss. We were so good. I think David, who actually DID play the drums, doubled for me as Peter Criss sometimes.

At one time I owned a lot of their albums, including a blood-red Dressed to Kill LP. I wound up destroying them all once I had become convinced by other adults that KISS stood for Knights In Satan’s Service. I regret having done that now, but I’m over it. I’m thinking of buying some tracks from iTunes. But for now, I have the book.

Mood: content
Weather: Overcast, 41 degrees F
Listening to: Griddlecakes Radio
Reading: BorgBlog
Eating: Arby’s Reuben sandwich, curly fries, large order of jalepeno bites, and a Diet Pepsi (brown and bubbly)
Watching: GeekBrief.tv

Fortunately for me, I’ve found a wi-fi hotspot at this Arby’s in Reading, along Reading Road, just south of Galbraith Road

Our car is currently being serviced. As one of the conditions of our purchase, they are fixing the window mechanism for the front driver’s side door. The car has nearly power-everything, and, as we test-drove it last month, we noticed that the window gets stuck and won’t budge without patience and coaxing.

Patience and coaxing are not something we have a lot of during the cold winter weather. And during the rain. And whenever we want to park the car someplace where the car should be locked. You understand. So does the dealer.

Today was the best day we had to have them look at the car and work on getting the mechanism (hereafter called “thingy” because mechanism takes too long to write) fixed. I needed some lunch anyway, so while they’re looking and and fixing the thingy, I’m sitting in Arby’s, enjoying the wi-fi connection.

When I was in college, I co-oped for a civil engineering consulting company whose office was just down the street. This was about 12 to 13 years ago. At that time there was this Asian restaurant called “Happy Garden” that we’d often go to for lunch.

As with a lot of the area, I’ve noticed it’s gone out of business, and, while I can still see the sign, the lettering has been painted over with red paint.

I mention this because I knew I’d need to give the dealership some time to work on the car, and, since I hadn’t been a pedestrian in these parts for some time, I strolled up and down the area, about a quarter of a mile in each direction, before settling here at Arby’s.

I think I chose Arby’s because, if I wanted to buy something else, other than my meal, it wouldn’t cost as much as if I’d gone to say, a family style restaurant.

So it’s been about 2 hours since I’d dropped the car off. I’ll probably call in a little while to see what’s going on. For now, I’m thankful that I have the wi-fi connection and can do some work.

Mood: hard-pressed, but not beaten down
Listening to: 6620 West Kidcast
Reading: lots of used car ads
Eating: Smooth and Bumpy, a snack that Keisha created for us

It has been a very trying week for us, as we’ve been on the search for a different car. You may recall that our other car – our only mode of transportation – died last week. I thought I’d provid an update here:

More than anything, it’s a faith-building experience, an experience in surrender before the Almighty God. Some may say that’s a little bit or a lot over the top, but we believe that God is able to do for us things we cannot do ourselves.

To be true, we need to do work for this ourselves. But, at least for me, I’m so prone to stress and anxiety in this situation. I know that God can help with that. I believe that God is able to work certain things that are beyond our control out for our good.

We’ve looked at a few cars, and checked a lot of other cars out on the internet via CarFax, which I highly recommend.

We’ve been renting a vehicle during this time, and that is the equivalent of more than filling up the gas tank every day. This big drain on our bank account is a cause for stress, and it’s overflowed in my interactions with Jennie, Keisha, and our pets.

I’m so prone to frustration, and the anger and rage I feel from not being in control of these aspects of our circumstances has led to sinful behavior; namely, angry outbursts, impatience, and episodes of self-harm.

Please keep us in your prayers. The podcast episode will probably be delayed at least a few days, until we get the car situation straightened out.

Mood: tired
Listening to: peace and quiet
Reading: this post I’m typing
Eating: nothing since lunch
Watching: the screen and the window outside

… but I’m safe at home – finally. Here’s kinda what happened:

I left work around 5:50 PM EST. As I continued south on Interstate 75, I noticed that the dashboard lights were not lit anymore. I thought that had something to do with the battery thing from before.

Once I got past Interstate 75 and Interstate 675, however, I realized that there was something more going on. For some time, the “low coolant” light has been on. I’ve kept a good eye on the temperature gauge to know that it wasn’t really a problem. Then the battery light came on this morning. I also noticed the alternator light on for some time, too.

The the alternator light went off. So the battery light was on and so was the low coolant light. Driving a little bit further, I saw the “air bag” light flicker on and off. Shortly after that the “brake” light, that signals that the emergency brake is engaged, flickered on.

Soon all 6 lights were on, and, by that time, I noticed it appeared to be dark in front of me. At least not as light as it was. So my headlights were going out, and all these dashboard lights were on.

I had just passed exit 36 and came to a short hill. That’s when the car conked out. I felt very, very fortunate that there was enough space and time to get over to the right hand side of the highway and let the car come to rest.

At about 6:20 EST, I called Jennie on the cell phone and told her what had happened. Eventually, after several successive conversations, we’d arranged for a rental car at the Dayton International Airport – since all the satellite locations had closed at 6. I’d also arranged for some close friends who live in Centerville – about 20 minutes north of me – to come pick me up and take me to the airport.

Huge props go out to Michelle, therefore, for getting her kids out of bed, driving south to pick me up, driving me up to the airport, waiting 15 to 20 minutes while I got the rental, and for driving me to the spot where it was.

Big – major props go up to God for all the ways he’s provided. It could have been raining really hard or snowing very badly. It could have been freezing cold. None of my phone calls could have gotten through. No rentals could have been available. There could have been a snag in getting us approved to get the rental. I could have been in an accident when the car broke down. It could have caught on fire. I could go on.

None of these things happened. Thank you, God!

I drove our rental – a brand new minivan with so many good amenities and accessories – it probably costs as much as my annual salary – maybe more – home.

Jennie and Keisha were waiting so that I could take Jennie to work. I had to drive, since her name isn’t on the agreement yet. Apparently all we need to do tomorrow is go to a satellite office and have Jennie show her license, and she’ll get added.

So, needless to say, I’m pretty tired.

We’re praying hard for God to provide us with our next mode of transportation.

This is a great idea!

ABC News: Grease-Burning Cars Make Fast Food Even Faster

• Background
• Attempting to Leave
• Beating Around the Bushings
• License to Pay
• Attempting to Leave, part 2
• Let Me Axle You About Your Hub
• Take Me Home
• Pick Me Up
• License to Pay, part 2
• Exceeding the Recommended Daily Limit
• Isn’t Science Wonderful
• Isn’t God Wonderful

Background

Last October, some friends from church gave us a ’94 Chevy Corsica. Shortly after we’d gotten it, we noticed that it had this odd way about it. The right front tire area would wobble and “bounce,” creating a lot of noise and shaking the car.

It wasn’t bad enough for us to really do a lot about it, so we just lived with it. Over time, we noticed that the wobble only occurred between 30 and 55 miles per hour. Below and above, the car behaved almost normally.

Attempting to Leave

This past Thursday morning, when my wife came home from work, she said that the car was sounding really bad. A little concerned, I prepared to go to work anyway.

As I began to drive, I could understand what Jennie had meant. Instead of heading toward the highway, I headed for one of the nearby auto repair places. I saw a Midas, and I took the car there.

Beating Around the Bushings

I handed the owner/manager the keys, and he had a mechanic pull it into a repair bay. After he lifted the car a bit, he checked the right front wheel and called the manager over. After a brief moment, the manager called me over to take a look. The wheel was close to snapping off, and the car was definitely unsafe to drive in its current condition.

It turned out that it needed something called “sway bushings”, which are somehow related to the steering assembly; they had broken and were no longer useful. I told for them to go ahead with the repair and called my work to tell them I would be late by a few hours.

I decided to wait in their lobby, watching television, and thinking about the application I’ve been developing at work.

License to Pay

After the repair was completed, the owner/manager gave me the total cost, and I gave him my driver’s license so that I could use the car to go to the ATM to get the money. We don’t have a credit card, and the Midas didn’t take personal checks.

Attempting to Leave, part 2

I withdrew the $240 needed from the ATM, returned to Midas, and paid my bill. As I started driving toward the expressway, I noticed that the wobble was still there. I could tell that something was fixed because it sounded a bit different.

I stopped to get me some breakfast/lunch, and then I returned to the Midas. After I told the owner that the car still sounded bad, he had the mechanic who’d worked on the car earlier go for a short ride with me. He had test-driven the car earlier, but only in the Target parking lot. As I got up to normal driving speed, he heard and felt the wobble. We returned to Midas.

Let Me Axle You About Your Hub

He pulled the wheel off, and took a closer look. The manager returned to the waiting area and told me it looked like it could be a problem with the axle or the wheel hub.

I knew from an experience several years ago that replacing the axle was not cheap at all. The manager and mechanic later deduced that it was probably the wheel hub.

Take Me Home

After giving me the estimate, I told the manager to go ahead with the work and asked for them to take me home, since I didn’t feel like waiting around. The mechanic said he would take the car on the highway to test it out this time. I called work and told them I wasn’t going to make it in after all.

The driver and I started toward our apartment, and, about two-thirds of the way there, I realized that the apartment keys were still with the car at the shop. As we turned around to head back to the shop, I chuckled at how silly that was. I’m glad I had a sense of humor about it. I left the ignition key with the mechanic, and the driver took me home.

Pick Me Up

I went inside and went to bed for a nap. Jennie returned home from some training at her work, having gotten a ride from a friend. After a few hours, Keisha came home, and I was able to meet her when she got off the bus. We were home for a short while when Midas called to tell me that the car was ready. I told them to send the driver to come pick me up.

License to Pay, part 2

When we got back to the shop, the assistant manager gave me the total. I left my license again, needing the car to head to the ATM to get the money, approximately $200.

Exceeding the Recommended Daily Limit

I returned to the credit union I’d gone to before. They are not affiliated with our credit union, except for the fact that they have the same type of ATM, and we don’t have to pay a fee when we use it.

I drove up to the ATM, and tried to withdraw the $200. I got a message stating that I needed to contact my institution because the transaction could not be completed. I went inside the credit union, and the teller told me that, since they are not in any way affiliated with my credit union, there was really nothing he could do.

I drove home and called the credit union’s toll-free number, and I told the representative about the situation, including my needing the money for a car repair, leaving my license, and so forth. He said that the additional $200 would put me over my daily limit of $300, yet he would set the account up to authorize it for this occasion.

I hung up and returned to the ATM to try again. This time I the message on the ATM slip stated that the “Amount Requested Exceeds Daily Limit”. Perturbed, I returned home and called the toll-free number again.

The rep I spoke with the second time said that it was probably because they didn’t set up the addditional amount on my wife’s ATM card as well. I gave the woman that number and she said I should be okay.

Since we needed to get some groceries, Jennie and Keisha climbed in with me. We drove back to the ATM, and I tried with Jennie’s card, but the ATM wouldn’t even read it. I tried with my card, and I got the same message as before.

Seriously frustrated, I went inside to talk with the teller. I told him that my credit union had supposedly authorized me to get the additional money. He told me again that they were not affiliated with my credit union and that it usually takes some sort of nightly update f
or something like that to take effect.

Isn’t Science Wonderful

Deflated, I returned to our car, and we drove to Midas. I went inside and spoke with the assistant manager. I told him that I had a handful of ATM slips telling me that, despite my credit union telling me the contrary, I was unable to get the money at that time.

My biggest concern was that they would think I was trying to steal from them. Since they had my license, all they’d have to do is call the sheriff, and I could get arrested.

I asked them to hold my license until Friday morning, when I could get the money to them on my way to work. They agreed.

On Friday morning, I was able to get the $200 cash, pay for the repair, and get my license back. Isn’t science wonderful?

Isn’t God Wonderful

As I’ve reflected on this series of events, I’ve been able to see how God was blessing me through it all:

• I was able to get to a repair facility before the car broke down. I could have been on the highway when the right front wheel snapped off. Then I would have been in a much worse situation.
• We had the money to pay for the repairs.
• The repair facility was very understanding in letting me leave my license while I drove the car to get the money.
• These events took place during a slow part of my work week. Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday are the days when I’m most needed at work.

And I know there are other ways that God took care of me that I haven’t mentioned.

It’s nice to drive the car without the nasty wobble. It’s gotten so that I’ve nearly forgotten it was there at all.

Car problems of late. Battery is not being recharged as we drive it – perhaps the alternator is bad. We drive a 1994 Chevrolet Corsica that friends from church gave us last October.

They told us the battery is new; I think I need to ask them for sure and check if it’s still under warranty.

Lately we’ve been having to get it jump-started. Jennie had to get it jumped as she left the doctor’s office this morning. When she met me for lunch, the car conked out, and we had it jumped. As we emerged from lunch, we needed to jumpt it again. Three times in 5 hours!

Jennie had planned to run some other errands, but it looks like those will need to be postponed.

Update: Maybe we can get one of these kind of cars!