Susan Arthur

I wasn't as quick to "hop to" this morning as I'd hoped, but I still made it to the tire place by mid-morning. The woman was very surprised to see me. "The steering wheel vibrates badly at highway speeds, and it pulls to the left," I explained. She took my paperwork, checked the computer, and had it back in a bay pretty quickly. I got one chapter of my Archives book read, and she told me it was done. She apologized for the problem, and wished me a good trip to Ky this weekend.

Not willing to take it on faith, I drove several miles to an interstate and hit my usual highway speed. Well, it didn't pull to the left any more, but the vibration was still there. At least I found a gas station with $2.79 for regular while I was perambulating around, so I filled up the tank and grabbed a sandwich before heading back to the tire place. The woman did a most satisfactory double take when she saw me. I explained again, and they worked on it again, and now it pulls to the left again but doesn't have the vibration. I was out of patience to deal with it any more today, so will have to go back. It's out of my way, but then it's so many miles from the store to anywhere I can test drive it that I was halfway home anyway. She told me the mechanic did a test drive at 70, but I can't imagine where he went to get up to 70 MPH in the few minutes he was gone. He must have endangered some people in a 45 zone or something; he sure couldn't have driven it at 70 for more than a few seconds. That really is tangential, though, if the vibration is gone but the pull is back. It pulls at any speed.

I did take it for the inspection, so at least I'm legal now. That's what started this whole thing, after all. And I got nearly all my reading done for the archives class. Man, I hope it gets more interesting than the first few dozen pages have been. I have at least been making reading notes, though. I find that to be much more helpful than underlining or highlighting.

I've gotten semi-obsessed with yesterday's plane crash in Kentucky. I've flown out of that airport several times and know the area around it at least slightly. One of the first articles I read used some word to describe the site that made it sound like a remote mountain area, so I had to go to Google maps and see what was near the airport that coule in any way be described as challenging, or whatever they called it. If that crash site was challenging, I'd hate to think what they'd say about a mountainside crash several miles away from civilization. This was on cleared land that looked like it had been mowed pretty recently, there was a road/driveway to within feet of the crash, and the land is gently rolling in the best Central Kentucky tradition. If you go to Google maps and type in "airport Lexington KY" you'll see what I mean.

I think the other reason I have been reading about it so much is that a few years ago in my hometown a small plane en route to a football game went down. It killed several people I went to high school with, and family members of people I've known for years. I was mildly anxious this time to make sure it wasn't another plane full of people I knew. I know it's no less a loss to the human race because I didn't happen to know them, but I was still relieved.

Well, just because I have most of the reading done for one class doesn't mean I can goof off. Two other classes to go, and a presentation to prepare.

It's been a long, expensive morning. I had an 8:30 appointment to get the oil changed in my car. I also need to get it inspected (overdue--oops) but my guy doesn't do inspections. Oh, well, I'll get the oil change and then go. Not so fast, there, missy. Seems that I need new wiper blades and new tires on at least the front two tires before it'll pass. Oh, and I need an alignment, too. Since Steve doesn't do tires I know it isn't just a scam, but I still have to get it done. Up the street to the tire place. I didn't think to check the time when I left Steve's, but the oil change was fairly quick. Not so the tires. Sigh.

I did take a book, but it turns out to be by the same author as the book I just abandoned out of disgust. (An un-funny rip-off of one of my favorite series ever.) Steve had good magazines, including the most up-to-date in a good variety of genres, but not so the tire place. Nope, nothing there but sports and hunting-type outdoor mags. Do they think only good-ole-boys buy tires? Okay, there was one-- count 'em, ONE-- Good Housekeeping. Geez. I went back to the bad mysetery book. At 11:00 I was set-upon by a smarmy loudmouth who decided that I really needed to know the entire plot of the latest Clive Cussler he had read-- I'm betting this author is quite the hit with conspiracy buffs. Geez, President Lincoln tied to the smokestack of a ship going down the Potomac, and replaced by an actor who was then killed at the Ford Theater? Poison poured into the ocean to cause "red algae" (as the man called it)? "It makes you think," the smarmy one intones with a meaningful nod. "If you like history and are into mysteries." I did my best to not look like I was interested in history, which wasn't too much of a stretch, especially right then. I don't even recall what he said about the third plot he kept telling me was intertwined; "Cussler always has three stories in his books." I guess my brain was just awash in red algae. I would have given my eye teeth for an iPod right then. It would have been so cranked up.

I finally threw myself on the mercy of the clerk, and bless her heart, a mere half hour later the car was done and I was away from the crazy "history" man. Not that it had anything to do with history, mind you.

I still need to get the wipers, but that's pretty minor, all things considered.

I have my first class of the semester tonight. It's at State, and I think I might walk. Class will be out before it gets dark, at least for a few more weeks, I think. I've heard the class might move, which would mean walking isn't in the picture. Oh, well.

I took a wild hair and added fresh peach chunks to my bean/corn/salsa salad for lunch and it was really good. Who knew? Hell, what on earth made me think of it? Glad I did, though.