We load up to head out to this baby shower. N&ON are having a baby, estimated date of confinement is in April, and a surprise was planned to coincide with the Superbowl. I drove my spouse, but men weren't welcome at the festivities, and so I wandered the neighborhood.
Let it be said that parking in the area of the apartment was disastrous. Where there were meters, they were set at one hour maximum, and then you had to move.
So, I stroll along the main drag, stop for some bagels, and then return to the car to find that the starter failed!
AAA was called. I paid again for parking, and set my emergency blinkers. Luckily, parking enforcement didn't make an appearance.
The gentleman from AAA managed to get the car started, but I was fearful that it wouldn't start again, so I drove for a while, until I found a spot thirty blocks away where there was no limit to parking, and in the shade.
I sat, engine running, and read for a while; then went to pick up my wife.
Once we got home, I dropped her off to get her truck, and then drove to the mechanic's to leave the car, and keys. He won't be open until Tuesday, but I'm sure he'll get the starter running or replaced.
Ack.
Traffic in that neighborhood, back off the main streets, was abysmal. There's barely enough room for two parking lanes and two lanes of traffic; I feared for my rear-view mirrors.
Inbound to the party, though, there was one thing that happened that amused me greatly.
There's a number of Orthodox synagogues in the area, therefore there are a lot of Orthodox Jews wandering around afoot. As we drove on Beverly, two such gentlemen were standing at the corner, preparing to cross. One gestured me to pass...just as the second one briskly stepped out into my path! (I see here a metaphor for the Israel-Palestine problem. Ask me FTF, if you want to discuss it sometime...) No, I didn't kill him...