Actually, when you have to have a 4-year-licensed driver sitting beside you ... and can't drive on the freeway ... and not between midnight and 5 a.m. either ... ... somehow, one gets the feeling that one has arrived at one's second childhood! ole joyful

Had a slight fender-bender in the early morning of Wed. at Lloydminster, an oil town on the Sask.-Alberta border - a van made a slight scrape on the front of the car while I was feeding my face ... pulling the bumper partly off, but it's stable and not a lot of damage. Had a good visit with sis-in-law and nurse niece (plus nephew that was at the reunion) in Edmonton, now bound back toward my brother's near Regina via a more southerly route, am to visit former colleague from Korea days in seniors' home in the village where she's sold her house, then back into Saskatchewan to visit Danielle and family. Had better get moving, so that I can see them after her driving lesson ... ... and before I deprive them of too much beauty sleep. Good wishes to you all. ole joyful P.S. Danielle not only told me where to go ... ... but how to get there! Lots of people tell us where to go ... but few give directions (maybe they haven't been over that road themselves). o j

Greetings, everyone. I'd had no indication prior to that trip that something was wrong with the rad. I had a '90 Dodge "Colt" (also standard tranny) from about '97 to about '04 or '05. I used it to travel the 12 miles or so to Uncle's farm nearly daily after his death, to make it look lived in, until the farm was sold, and, as I was usually travelling at midnight or 2 a.m or so, when there was little traffic, found that I could coast over 16 of the 20 km. trip ... and if anyone had told me that they could coast 80% of the time, I'd have thought them to be lying. Didn't have any clutch or transmission troubles with it. When the mechanic said that, at about 200K miles, it was risky to put it on the road, donated it to a charitable agency for a charitable receipt. When I initiated a discussion here about coasting some time ago, some said that such is illegal in their state. I've asked several police people and have been told that it's my responsibility to be in charge of my vehicle, and to drive in a safe manner. I don't usually do it if someone is following me rather closely, as it is not fair to interfere with his/her progress. _____________________________ The lady in question called me the next evening, to ask whether I'd got home O.K., and I told her that I had, and of the issues that I'd had to deal with ... and asked her how she knew that I'd had any problems. She said that she hadn't seen me at the commital, or afterward at the luncheon, and that she had been pretty sure that I'd have been there, so thought that something probably went wrong. And, yes ... I've seen her again ... why not? Last evening, as a matter of fact ... for a short visit before coming to the library ... but hadn't time to make this post, then. Any other questions/comments/(advisories)? ole joyful

I wish more people had your dad's philosophy. These days it seems the common saying is you mess up - you cover it up! I can't understand what's the big problem with saying "I goofed" and then accept the consequences. Usually it's not that big a deal. Learn from your mistakes and move on. I've learned a *lot* in my life! And yes, a chunk of 4x2 can be handy. You have a baseball bat, a weapon, a shelf, and more. Funny you mention that Dotmom, I do the same thing. It really irritates me to see people decide against getting something and just leave it anywhere. Put it back! The bigger stores around here have people go around with carts just to pick up that stuff. They'll leave packages of meat, frozen items, and of course you'll find opened and emptied packages of most anything tucked in the back of a shelf. Makes you want to scream.