CARS, DINGS, AND PIZZERIAS

There are advantages and disadvantages to getting one's car whacked.  The advantage is that it gets fixed at someone else's expense.  The bad news is that it means being car-less for about five days, maybe more.

Because I am without a car, I beg my son for a ride to work every morning and beg my coworkers for rides home every afternoon.  When I make the decision not to rent a car for a few days, I figure I can walk to the grocery store if need be.  Seriously, there's a store a half mile away, and one about three-quarters of a mile away.  Yup, seemed like a no-brainer decision.

And then the spring rain arrives.  It arrives as I am walking one and a half miles home from the auto body shop.  I have my heavy coat with me because it's a little cold and also because the coat is water-resistant.  Unfortunately, it is also extremely toasty, and I end up carrying it most of the way and letting the rain and my sweat cool me down along the trek.

The combination of drizzle and carrying my coat lead me to the decision that I will not be hoofing it to the grocery store this particular day.  We order pizza for dinner from the shop down the street.

The following day, I'm thinking about getting dropped off at the store and walking home with some groceries.  Instead of drizzle, though, it is raining in earnest, big, fat, driving hard pellets of icy cold.  Yeah, dinner isn't happening again tonight.  We order subs for dinner ... from the shop down the street.

Funny thing is that we do not often go to the pizzeria down the street.  I usually cook something.  But, with the car and my schedule, cooking has become a low priority.  Last week we ordered pizza, as well -- from the shop down the street.

Advantage = Pizzeria employees are making my dinner every night
Disadvantage = Pizzeria employees know they are making my dinner every night

Get better soon, my old car.  My stomach misses you.