Shiftless revisited

I need to clarify a few points about my recent car fiasco (read it here) for the benefit of concerned colleagues ("You did WHAT?!") as well as those impressionable young readers who might be my daughter:

1. I was NOT hitch-hiking. I was simply walking along the shoulder of the highway minding my own business, and if I had not been picked up, I would have kept walking until I hit the gas station on the edge of town (about a mile) or perhaps even the Farmers' Market (three or four miles).

2. So why did I get into a car with a strange man? Well, for one thing, he wasn't that strange: he was a clean-cut middle-aged guy, and his truck carried the logo of a prominent local business known for its integrity.

3. But how did I know he wasn't an ax murderer? My firm belief, perhaps misguided, is that ax murderers don't search for prey at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. In fact, I have always subscribed to the Puritan belief that people who get up early in the morning are inherently virtuous, which suggests that the ax murderer who wants to sneak up on me should disguise himself as a clean-cut middle-aged businessman driving a company truck at 8 a.m. So I guess the moral here (and I hope my daughter is listening) is this: keep walking! Don't get in the truck!

4. Why didn't I call a friend and ask for a ride? First, no cell phone; second, unsavory edge of town where none of the houses looked as if they welcomed spontaneous friendliness; third, unwillingness to knock on strange doors before 8:00 on a Saturday morning; finally, by the time I had reached a friend, roused her from sleep, and gotten her to drive out to wherever I was calling from, I could have walked all the way to the Farmers' Market.

5. Why didn't I call AAA? See above, plus this: I always forget that I have a membership with AAA. I've had a membership for three or four years and I've used it exactly once, primarily because I have difficulty thinking of myself as the kind of person who can afford AAA. (Crazy, I know.) I actually woke up in the middle of the night Saturday and remembered: "I could have called AAA!" And then Sunday afternoon, we did just that and got the car towed to our mechanic's garage.

It's back now, by the way, and it runs, except it won't go into fifth gear. It needs some pretty serious work that could end up costing more than the car is worth, but while the mechanic gets us some quotes, we're driving the car--very carefully. We do have a new rule, though: whoever drives the gimpy car must carry the cell-phone. Next time I end up shiftless, I'll be ready.