I met a woman long ago, her hair the black that black can go

By the end of last week, I had decided I would take my car off the road and borrow my mother's car, per her suggestion, until I saved up for another one. This decision was the result of a few things, not the least of which was the fact that the road to getting my car inspected was becoming increasingly convoluted. And expensive. I determined not to put another penny into repairs.

On my way home from work yesterday, my attention was drawn to a tow truck on the side of the road. I felt as if I'd be seeing one soon. Further up the road, I saw another one and had the same feeling. I wondered if my car was ready to give out on me. "You're going to ditch me after all the years of service I provided you? Naw, asshole, I'm not going out like that", I imagined it saying.

Back in the city, I stopped at Shaws to pick up a few groceries, walked over to the bookstore, and returned to my car. It started and then stalled. I tried again. Same effect. I gave up after a few minutes. "Well", I thought, "looks like the ol' girl bailed on me before I could bail on her."

Ah, here's the deal: this topic is not one I'm having a good time reliving, so I'm going to lightning round the rest of the story.

- I waited over an hour for AAA to arrive.

- I had the car towed to my parent's house. The tow truck driver had a thick Latino accent; our conversations were never clearly defined. He told me he once towed a Celtics player but because he doesn't like basketball , he didn't know which player it was. And, from what I could make out, I'm pretty sure he doesn't like black people.

- My parent's, particularly my mother, dressed me down for about a half hour about how my life is in shambles. I tried to keep my composure, but after what I had just been through, it wasn't easy. I know my parent's worry about and care for me, but I wasn't very thrilled at the timing and tone of their lecture.

- I arrived home around nine thirty, hungry and hunched over. I was happy to be home.

So there you have it. Yes, things can suck, but they can be pretty good, too. Today at work, I thought about my relationships. I thought about some things I know about a certain friend of mine who seems to have helped engineer the ending of one of my closest friendships. I've known for some time and have never said anything. Like everything else about this silly business, it'll remain cloaked in secrecy. Cloaked, I tells ya.

But I am in the business of ending this post and finishing my delicious coffee. I will plot solutions, most of them murderous, to the mouse problem we have in the house (their actions are cavalier; they think we're soft); I will play some music; I will take a shower to clean off the dried yoga sweat; I will make a note to remind myself to schedule a haircut; I will fantasize about the wonderful vegetarian food Spira and I had at Life Alive last Friday; and then I will sleep deeply for several hours, dreaming of women and buzzing with cosmic bliss.