The Mystery

     The Mystery
It all started with the stolen garbage can lid.  I left my garbage at the end of the driveway, like I've been doing for 18 years.  The garbage guys are reliable, some a little neater than others, but basically I'd say I'm very pleased with the standards of my refuse removal.
This week, somebody took my garbage can lid.  No, it didn't blow away.  No, I didn't forget it.  Somebody actually slowed down, stopped in the road, got out of their vehicle and took my lid. Since I live in a pretty rural area, there are very few potential culprits, unless of course, it was an outside-the-area felon.  Somebody who'd been casing my garbage for a while and liked the look of my lid, and thought I was an easy target.  I'm considering scoping out my neighborhood to see if I can identify my lid on somebody else's can.  Clearly, I'm having some trouble getting past this, but I'm working on it.
A few days after the caper, I took my car in for its yearly inspection.  This was a slam dunk:  car is only 2 years old, with 16,000 miles on it.  Incorrect.  There was something wrong with my struts and my front end (oh so many possible cheap shots here, which I will let go).
  After being diagnosed by a second service station, I was told it needed $589 worth of work.  What????   I then took the car to the dealership because it was still under warranty (there is a God).  The dealer told me that my struts were fine, but I was missing 2 bolts.  At 60 cents each.  I asked if the bolts came loose and just fell off. 
 "nope". 
 "Are you sure?" 
 "yup".   
 "Was this a factory omission?" 
 "nope"
 Hmmmm
 "are you saying somebody deliberately took these bolts out?"
 "nope" (eye contact was lost at this point, so I knew he was lying).
 "Hey, pal, off the record, just you and me - did somebody sabotage this vehicle?"
 "well......"
I took the car back to the inspection place, and this time it passed with flying colors.
If I was a conspiracy theorist, I'd connect the garbage can lid with the missing bolts.  Is that crazy?
Oh yeah, when I got back from the inspection, the furnace went out again.  Still think I'm crazy?

Thanksgiving

    My Little Thanksgiving Day Miracle

Like the swallows to Capistrano, like the crowds for James Taylor at Tanglewood, my furnace conked out again.  This is not an unusual event for me, as the furnace conks out frequently.  So frequently in fact, that I know all the repair guys by name and have generously contributed to all of their childrens' college funds.  This is the second time it's happened this winter, and it isn't even officially winter yet.

One of the main reasons I'm going to Florida for the winter is to avoid the stress of the furnace (or lack thereof).  Seriously.  It's also one of the reasons why I don't have a gun.  I am a danger to my furnace.

This time, it conked out at some point, the day before Thanksgiving.  Yes, a little cosmic joke.  I knew it had happened again, because of that familiar chill in the air, and the eerie silence that happens when the furnace stops working.  I'm used to this, but the day before Thanksgiving?  Really?  C'mon.

I was able to sleep Wednesday night, with lots of blankets and lots of wine.  When I woke up on Thursday morning, I could see my breath.  I considered getting into the oven with the turkey, but there was no room.  I considered selling my car so I could afford an emergency Thanksgiving Day service call.  I considered prayer, but settled for some first class swearing.

And now, my little Thanksgiving day miracle.  With no expectation, I pushed the reset button that sometimes starts the damn thing, and yes, Elizabeth, it started.  I know from experience that this occasionally happens and in a day or so it conks out again.  But for now, for right now, my house is a toasty 72 degrees and I can take off my mittens.

Guess what I'm thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day?