No Charge

Monday morning presented an opportunity for a walk up my favorite venue - the creek.  Right now there is water roaring frantically over the berms, and more source can be seen in the foothills of the Blues.   There was a battle in body and mind about stepping out into the cool wet air.  In addition to still having a jaw that feels like someone hit it with a strong left hook (cracked tooth and extraction), the rest of my body seems to be bowing to the demands of another flexing of fibromyalgia.   But, I felt good when I got back to my car.

I saw a lone female Common Golden-eye.  She was in about the same spot that last week I saw a lone female Wigeon.  There were also several small groups of Common and Hooded Mergansers, Mallards, and Canadian Geese.  I also saw my dancing American Dipper.    Obviously it was fine weather for water fowl.

A five a.m. morning call yesterday advised us that our 7 year-old granddaughter, Goober Evalina,  was once again in the hospital as a result of an asthma attack.  After sending a prayer for healing, I always vow to pray more often; I'm sure He also wants to hear from me when everyone is well.

I think I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep about 7 a.m. when the phone rang again.  This call was to request my presence as a substitute tutor for the day.  I had to shift into high gear to make it there on time.

There has been a little ting tang walla walla bing bang coming from my car's engine the past few months.  The mechanic, who kept it overnight so that he could listen to it in the cool morning air, diagnosed it as pistons and a lifter.  He said he could charge me a lot of money to fix it.  But, his advice was to let it be.  Apparently those two parts can grow noisy as a car ages and not really cause any major problems.  In fact, he said that the lifter could be replaced and still make that clicking noise.

Then I asked about a tune up.

"Whats the makers recommendation?" He asked and I told him 60,000 miles. I'd had that done, of course.

"So, you should be good for another 10,000 miles,"  he added after mentioning that my odometer  registered just just over 100,000.

He handed me my keys and said, "No Charge."


That rare phrase deserves its own post.