no damn class in the Classic City

Last week was our second trip to Athens this month. Since we didn't get to see much of Larry or Renee when we were there earlier, Z and I had to go back, this time dragging along Cousin C. Sadly, Renee wasn't able to be in town due to a family illness. LG, however, didn't have to work so we were able to kidnap him for significant periods of time.

We arrived at ATL and drove to Snellville where we stopped for lunch (lupper? linner?) at the Snellville Diner, a most interesting place where six-layer cakes are on display at the counter. Oh my. Fortunately, we didn't have room for dessert and didn't want to drag it to Athens with us, knowing that we'd be able to find enough yummy food once we got there. After a bit of a rest in the Athens HI, we met Larry at The Grit and then wandered over to the river to try to spot the beavers which LG swears had been frolicking there every evening for the past month. Yeah, right. No beavers, just lots of mosquitos which nibbled my sweet little ankles. We did wander down a trail right beside the river though, and found some wild blackberries. YUM!

We had decided that Friday would be our local day. C and I went to the Mayflower for a light breakfast so Z could sleep in. Then we scooped up LG and drove over to Watkinsville so we could visit the Chappelle Gallery and Main Street Yarns. We wandered around the Botanic Garden in the afternoon - beautiful. That night we again attempted beaver-watching, again to no avail. We suspect LG made up the entire beaver saga. He's hoaxy like that.

Saturday was our day to drive up into the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills. I had seen things online about "Alpine Helen", a town made to look sort of Swiss, and wanted to see what that was all about. After enduring much teasing from LG, who assured me that it was cheesier than Swiss cheese, we drove on up there and sure enough, he was right! Oh my. It's just the main highway with hotels and shops and restaurants that sort of have Alpine facades and names. As far as we could tell, the only thing to actually DO there other than shop and eat is to go tubing in the Chatahoochee, which did look like fun but couldn't possibly occupy the throngs of people we saw wandering along the hot sidewalks.

Anyway, we beat it out of there and headed to Cleveland, home of Babyland Hospital, birthplace of Cabbage Patch Kids! The tour was actually interesting and funny. Have you ever seen a cabbage give birth? I thought not. It was silly and fun and brought back memories of Zannah's getting her Cabbage Patch when she was three.

We went for lunch in Hiawasee and discovered that the GA Mountain Fair was going on, so we went to that for the afternoon. There were demonstrations of board-splitting and such, displays of home-made canned goods and crafts, as well as vendors and huge Percherons and cotton candy.

The highlight of the day was the Old Sautee Store with its peepshow and yummy candies and farmer cheese. And bubbles.

On Sunday we met LG at the Grill for brunch then set out for Atlanta, where we got stuck in a massive traffic jam due to road construction. Finally we arrived at the Georgia Aquarium, which was certainly worth all the hassle. I loved the weedy sea dragons and the otters and of course the beluga whales.

In a rare moment of good luck, arriving early at the airport scored us seats on an earlier flight home, which pleased everyone.

As we left Athens, LG asked "when are you coming back?". I wish I knew.

This world is big and so-awake/ I stayed up late to hear your voice

Our flight home from Toronto was canceled (way to go, American Airlines!) so we arrived on a much later flight. I felt bad that Em had to drive all the way back to her place three hours away, but she needed to be at work the next day.

And so did I! I worked three days of summer school library over at FRHS. It was good because two senior English teachers brought their classes to do the song project for senior theme. It helped that I'm familiar with the project. Anyway, that was an extra $500 or so to go toward my summer adventures.

The next trip was bipedal. First Becky and I flew to New York where we met up with Lydia. As always, New York was fascinating. We had great weather, not too terribly hot this time, and only a few rain showers which didn't interfere with much at all. Quick run-down: Bronx Zoo, Metropolitan Museum of Art (where the Superhero: Fashion and Fantasy exhibit was very interesting to me) and lots and lots of good food.

One day we walked down Broadway; I wanted to browse in the ABC Carpet store and was hoping to have lunch at TeaNY. When we got there it was too crowded (such a tiny place) so we went next door to Bruschetterria for lunch. That was delicious! Then we were able to get a table at TeaNY for dessert, so that worked out perfectly.

Of course the "purpose" of the New York trip was the R.E.M. concert at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night (June 19). Since fan club tickets could only be bought in pairs, Lydia and Becky were sitting on the opposite side of the venue from me. I had bought two tickets, thinking surely I could find someone to go with me, and sure enough, a former KHS student was available and interested. It was cool to be able to share his excitement and his comments. It was neat that he couldn't tell which were old songs and which were from the new album.

I had one band sighting while in the city. We went into a teeny tiny shop (Crumpler) so Lydia could buy a camera bag. There were several people there and boxes on the floor so it was really stuffed. I looked up and saw that Bill Rieflin (drummer for R.E.M.) had come in with another guy who had a bagless camera. I was hoping they would shop for a while but I guess the conditions deterred them, as they left right after I spotted them. Drat.

One of the best parts of the trip was the opportunity to visit with former student John. Our first night in town, we dined at the restaurant where he's working. We were enjoying sitting outside until a thunderstorm popped up and forced us indoors. And let me just say, don't try a pineapple mojito. Not good. Regular mojito much nicer. We spent more time with John and his bf Wednesday. We took the subway to his neighborhood (upper east side) and got food at an adorable cafe, Champignon. Then we dined out on the terrace of his apartment building. It was so fun to meet his second dog, Chloe the Papillon, and to again cuddle Parker the Yorkie.

One evening was spent at the theatre seeing Morgan Freeman, Peter Gallagher and Frances McDorman in The Country Girl. It was an excellent production, and no, seeing Mr Freeman in his boxers was NOT the highlight of the experience for me.

Our time in NY was over too soon, as always, and on Friday we flew off to Atlanta.

Going to a place that’s far, so far away and if that’s not enough

My summer roaming is done already, so a report is in order.

June 6 - flew to Toronto with Emily. We stayed in Oakville, a western suburb, away from the bustle of the city but close enough for an easy drive (with the assistance of our friendly GPS lady).

Saturday morning we got up and drove to Niagara Falls (Canadian side). The drive isn't especially attractive, it's pretty much industrialized stuff, and the town of Niagara Falls is totally commercialized tourist-trap stuff. They really couldn't ruin the falls themselves though. We parked in the overpriced lot ($20 if I remember correctly) and assumed the fee covered the "people-mover" bus, but no, that was another fee to pay. We bought tickets for the Maid of the Mist boat to the bottom of the falls. Em and I had agreed that this was the one thing we both really wanted to do while there.

Each of us was given a blue plastic poncho. I wish I had realized that the poncho hoods had drawstrings for a very good reason. Since we were near the first of the line to enter the boat, I scrambled up the steps and to the front of the boat. It seemed like a good idea at the time. At some point, Em said she had wondered how so many people had managed to already be wearing "Maid of the Mist" tshirts; then she realized the picture and lettering were on the poncho that we were all wearing. Seems like something I would think!

It was a hot day in Ontario, but as we neared the falls the spray from the water was cooling. the closer we got, the more the spray turned into something resembling a torrential downpour complete with gusty winds. Sort of like standing in a hurricane maybe. I was soon soaked. Because I hadn't drawn the drawstring, the hood was blown off and useless. Water ran down inside the sleeves of the poncho and down inside the front as well. My glasses were so wet I couldn't see through them, but if I took them off I couldn't open my eyes because of the blowing water.

It was wonderful. I was able to open my eyes and peek out enough to appreciate the power and beauty of the falls.

We drove back through Niagara-on-the-Lake, a charming and charmingly expensive little town of B&Bs and cute shops and wineries.

Saturday evening was the Leonard Cohen concert. We decided to go on into downtown Toronto and find dinner near the Sony Centre. Em was seriously wanting some Thai food so we found the name and address of a place and decided to go there. We parked in a garage near the Centre; as we emerged, we noticed that almost every pedestrian was accompanied by a dog. We were both thinking "gosh, Canadians sure love their dogs!" when we noticed tents and booths and blocked-off streets. We had emerged into Woofstock! No time to explore much that evening though.

We couldn't find the restaurant we had in mind but someone recommended another for us, so we went to Spring Rolls. We were able to get a table outside where we could watch the parade of dogs and interesting people. The food was great - they had Em's favorite soup. The other diners were very friendly and we enjoyed talking to Torontonians.

The Cohen concert was all I hoped it would be and then some. For 73, he's remarkably spry! His voice is amazing and his stage presence is mesmerizing. He just went through wonderful song after wonderful song for over two hours. The other musicians were excellent as well, and the backup singers too. A beautiful evening.

Sunday we drove downtown again, parked, and hiked around. We walked up to Chinatown and had a dim sum lunch. We went into almost every booth at Woofstock and both found new collars for our dogs. Even though the R.E.M. concert didn't begin until 6:30, we went on over to Ontario Place early - I was pooped from all that walking in the heat. We caught part of the soundcheck there, which was really cool, and engaged in entertaining people-watching and commenting ("Oh my god, look, he's wearing an REM shirt to an REM concert!!" "Oh, I know, how totally uncool is THAT?!?" *snort* *giggle*).

People began lining up early to enter the venue (why? there was no GA, all reserved seats except for lawn) and I spotted a virtual acquaintance in line so went over to meet her. We went ahead to our seats, then met up with some other acquaintances from The Community. I didn't especially enjoy either of the opening acts: The National and Modest Mouse. MM would have been okay sort of if the "singer" hadn't screamed instead of singing.

The R.E.M. concert was soooo much fun! Em and I (and everyone around us) stood for the entire show. I was surprised at how many people knew the words to the new songs as well as the old ones. I had brought my new camera along and was taking pictures. Our seats were great, close to the front and almost dead center, so I was getting good shots. Finally the guy behind me handed me his card and asked if I would email him the pictures. Then he started suggesting which things I should photograph! Too funny. The guy on my right eventually gave me his email address too, as he wanted to pictures as well.

This brief report has turned into a marathon. Next leg of Summer Tour 08 will be posted later.

Green green grass of home

One of my very favorite YA authors posted a video on Amazon, ostensibly about his new book which will come out in October. I love this video.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m2LPBA0SKVWTR7

The Bluest Eye

Me and AA, taken by AA's short little arm, @ The Police concert.

Stung!

Stole this picture from a pal's blog. I found the Elvis Costello/Police concert to be a lot more fun than I had anticipated. EW had given me a Costello CD so some of his songs were familiar, and I discovered that my subconscious contained most of the Police songs. The photo is Sting singing along with Costello on "Alison". Very cool.

all of a sudden now you're back again

More Ritterization. *sigh* That boy certainly knows how to put on a show. The audience was really into it too, which just makes everything better.

making all the right moves

Us getting Ritterized




Ritter getting Ritterized too.

the wind comes a'tickling my knees

The trip to Athens for the Josh Ritter concert was gorgeous. First off our flight was canceled so instead of having plenty of time to meander over from Atlanta, we were in a mad wicked rush through the dark Georgia night. The show began at 9. We arrived in Atlanta at 7:30ish, snagged a cherry red Impala SS and were off.

I called The Melting Point to have them let LG and RY get their tickets without me being there so they could go on in. We hit the HI at 9 pm, checked in, changed clothes, and hoofed it across downtown. I called LG as we walked and learned that the opener (Ingrid Michaelson) had finished. We got there about 5-10 minutes before Josh took the stage. Our Athenian Angels had saved a table on the second tier and by standing on our sturdy wooden chairs, we were able to see just fine. The crowd was mostly young, though there were some others in my age group-ish, and very enthusiastic, even singing along. As RY told Josh later, Athens crowds are usually much more jaded.

After the show I spent a smallish fortune at the merch table - new tour shirts, people! Josh was signing out by the bus so we got into line. Since I had bought the vinyl of Conquests I tried to get all the band members to sign the album, but Mr. Liam slunk away into the night with his cymbal bag. Another time, maybe. We had a good chat with Mr Austin though. We got our share of time with Josh, hugs and autographs for everyone.

To keep this short, the rest of the weekend was spent eating (The Grill, The Grit X2, Clocked) and hanging out. We drove to Watkinsville so I could shop the sale at the cool yarn shop. We spent time Saturday night wandering the UGA campus with LG as our guide; that hoaxing varmint is not to be trusted! We got to spend a bit of time with EM, though I think our numbers intimidated him a little, bless his subversive little heart.

ears up

Dang, I let the blog thing get away from me again. So what have I been doing? Walking the dog, working, going to see George Carlin (a little disappointing, he's just an angry old man), running down to Austin to hang out with a pal (including a trip to Hippie Hollow!) and seeing B & P.

What's to look forward to? May will bring a Police and Elvis Costello concert with E, and a trip to Athens with my Girl Posse for a Josh Ritter concert. In June I'll go to Toronto with E for an R.E.M. concert and a side-trip to Niagara Falls. Then my major summer adventure will be seeing R.E.M. in New York at Madison Square Garden and in Atlanta. The new camera should get quite a workout over the next couple of months.

camera

So far all I've done with the new camera is get pictures of Tybee. I love this one that Zannah took of me and Tyb on our walk Sunday.

Illustrations

Coming into Bass Hall

As I left Bass Hall last night, I commented to C, “This was like going to church, only better.” Her reply: “Waaaay better!”

The Arlo Guthrie concert was brilliant in every way. As we were waiting to enter the hall, C said “These people look like they might have gone to college with us.” Yes, the crowd was decidedly middle-aged, with a few younger folks in tow, as well as a few older folks with canes. We looked at the merch and I wanted a “Solo reunion Tour” t-shirt but talked myself out of it; how many t-shirts does one woman need? Anyway, our seats were perfect – the first row on the second orchestra section. Too bad the geezer beside me with either dead or asleep – must have been a dragged-along husband.

Of course I can’t remember the set list, but I do know Arlo played The Motorcycle Song (aka The Pickle Song), City of New Orleans, St James Infirmary, Coming Into Los Angeles, Green Green Rocky Road, The Alice’s Restaurant Massacree, among others. The last song of his set was This Land is Your Land. For the encore he taught us a song that his dad wrote but never set to music, then led us in a sing-along. I wish I could remember the words, but my infamously sieve-like memory has let them trickle out overnight. “My Peace” is the title. While his songs mostly touched my heart, his stories touched my funny-bone. Lord, he’s a great storyteller. C and I hadn’t laughed so much in a long time.

And at intermission? I did buy a t-shirt.

but now the snow

We're having a blizzard. Well, by north Texas standards, it's a blizzard. It bagan sleeting this morning, then changed to a "wintery mix" as the meteorologists say, then turned to plain old snow falling in huge fluffy flakes. So what did I immediately think?

Photo op!



If we get more snow tonight, school will probably be canceled tomorrow. That's good, but bad, because it'd mean I would have to work on June 5.

at night we crossed the border

The day after the Dylan concert I left for the borderlands with the Interact Club, for which I'm faculty adviser. We went with members of the Keller Rotary, the Grapevine Rotary and Interact, and one guy from the Metroport Rotary, in whose vehicle I happened to ride, along with three juniors from my school. The girls were great; funny, nice, just super kids. Our driver enjoyed them very much.

So we drove about seven hours to Del Rio and checked into the hotel. We were supposed to go across to Cuidad Acuna for dinner at a certain time but the G'vine people were running very late arriving so we had to wait for them. We finally got to the Taco Grill around 8 p.m. They had the same funky guy (with a toupee, I think) playing the keyboard and singing. The kids really got into the dancing this year. Senor Keyboard played Achy Breaky Heart and some ladies from the Rotary taught the moves to the kids. Then he played the Macarena. Oh my.

We had mariachis too.

Saturday morning we crossed back into Mexico to spend the day painting classrooms at the Escuela Benito Juarez. The school was generally in worse condition than the one we painted last year, but at least some rooms had plaster over the bricks so they were easier to paint with rollers. Painting the rooms white certainly made them look clean and bright, but if I do this again next year, I'll take some bottles of acrylics to paint some flowers or stencils or something to brighten them up a bit. The Interact kids worked hard and had a really good time. Many of them made an effort to attempt to communicate with the children who came to watch, help, and score free tshirts .



After a full day of work, we went back to the hotel to clean up and rest up before crossing the border yet again to enjoy a dinner hosted by the Acuna Rotary. We went to the same place as last year but I thought this year's food was better - they grilled meat out back, and had the best cheese quesadillas ever. The kids talked big about how they were going to stay up all night, go to the hotel sauna, etc, but on the drive back the girls in our car conceded that they were entirely too tired for that and would be tumbling straight into bed. Smart gals.

I often seem to dread excursions such as this, but then they almost always turn out to be great experiences, and this trip was no exception. I hope I can remember that next year and be enthusiastic in my agreement to go along again.

the answer, my friend

It has been suggested that I write about seeing Bob Dylan in concert in Dallas recently (Feb. 21, to be exact, at House of Blues). Sweet Zannah agreed to accompany me; she loves some Dylan herself, particularly the "stoner song". Anyway, we got to the right area after a couple of missed turns on my part, then drove around looking for a place to have dinner before the concert. Finally we decided on El Fenix, which is reliable and quick. Zannah had a lovely peach margarita; I enjoyed a sip.

We made it into the venue shortly before the concert began. Since we had GA floor tickets, we first tried to get into the main crowd but as always, just when we thought we were settled the tallest, broadest man in the building came and plonked himself down in front of us. We retreated to the back, where we could see pretty well actually. Unfortunately, that was the lair of the folks who paid $70 to drink and talk with Dylan as background music. Idiots. The acoustics weren't good there either. We moved back into the crowd down front and managed to be able to get a decent view for the rest of the show, as well as to hear it.

And hearing is pretty dang important. Dylan played some old classics but they were reworked so as to be unrecognizable. That makes it impossible for me to mention the set list! However, I have lifted that from a Bob-blog:

1.	Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat (Bob on electric guitar)
2.	It Ain't Me, Babe (Bob on electric guitar)
3.	Watching The River Flow (Bob on electric guitar)
4.	Girl Of The North Country (Bob on keyboard and harp)
5.	Rollin' And Tumblin' (Bob on keyboard)
6.	Workingman's Blues #2 (Bob on keyboard)
7.	High Water (For Charlie Patton) (Bob on keyboard)
8.	Spirit On The Water (Bob on keyboard and harp)
9.	Can't Wait (Bob on keyboard)
10.	Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on keyboard)
11.	Positively 4th Street (Bob on keyboard and harp)
12.	Honest With Me (Bob on keyboard)
13.	Nettie Moore (Bob on keyboard)
14.	Summer Days (Bob on keyboard)
15.	Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on keyboard and harp)
	(encore)
16.	Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on keyboard)
17.	Blowin' In The Wind (Bob on keyboard)

It was just amazing to be in the same room with a legend.

Here's the review from The Dallas Morning News:

BY THOR CHRISTENSEN / The Dallas Morning News
tchristensen@dallasnews.com


"You think I’m over the hill?" Bob Dylan sang with sneer Thursday night at the House of Blues. "You think I’m past my prime?"

The answer, my friends, isn't blowing in the wind. It’s a very concrete "No."

At his best, the 66-year-old legend was full of spit and venom – a grizzled blues master with a voice that bordered on the demonic. And even when the show wobbled – as it did for about a third of the 105-minute set – Mr. Dylan still gave it his all, bobbing his shoulders and pummeling his keyboard in "Highway 61 Revisited" like he was Little Richard.

Before the show, there was reason to believe Mr. Dylan might not be at his best. He hasn’t played live in four months, and his handlers were apparently so sure he’d be rusty they issued a statement saying press wasn’t invited to his three sold-out H.O.B. shows.

What next? No fans under 30 allowed? No one who doesn’t own Slow Train Coming? No eye-rolling during his harmonica solos?

They needn’t have been so uptight. It was one of Mr. Dylan’s more exciting Dallas gigs in recent decades – much better than in ’95 at the Dallas Music Complex or ‘03 at the Granada, though not as stunning as his ‘99 Starplex show with Paul Simon.

Dressed in black, with a wide-brimmed hat blocking his face, Mr. Dylan walked on to the dimly lit stage flanked by his usual band – longtime bassist Tony Garnier, drummer George Recili, pedal steel player Donnie Herron and guitarists Stu Kimball and Denny Freeman (who’s originally from Dallas).

Despite the four-month break, they started the show with a bang: A rocking version of "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat," followed by a wicked jump blues overhaul of "Watching the River Flow." Soon after, Mr. Dylan unplugged his guitar and retreated for the rest of the show to electric keyboard – his instrument of choice in recent years.

Visually, Keyboard Bob isn’t nearly as fun to watch as Electric Guitar Bob. But it gave Mr. Freeman more room to execute his knife-like guitar solos in songs like "Thunder on the Mountain" and Muddy Waters’ "Rollin and Tumblin." And when the whole band kicked into high-octane blues-rock ("Can’t Wait,’’ "High Water (For Charley Patton)") they were the world’s best middle-aged garage band.

They had their share of tentative moments in slower songs like "Nettie Moore." And some of the new arrangement didn't work, especially the dirge-paced "Positively 4TH Street."

But for every fizzled experiment, another one soared, like the bizarre, Brian Eno-style "Girl of the North Country" and the fiddle-laced waltz version of "Blowin’ in the Wind" that closed the show.

Curveballs like that tend to confuse casual fans who like to hear the hits played the way they know them. But Mr. Dylan couldn’t care less: He keeps everyone guessing – including himself – which is why he’ll never be past his prime.

I feel I'm owed some joy

So is this the cutest little fluffy black face you've ever seen or what? Yes, we are totally in love with our Tybee. He actually has shown his naughty side recently - twice he's gotten into the kitchen trash and ingested things that were not intended to be ingested by man or beast. He hasn't lost any weight so I've cut his rations starting today. The weather was gorgeous yesterday so we had a long ramble at Bear Creek Park, where he enjoyed watching the ducks.

Hubby and I made use of my free Stock Show tickets this afternoon; beautiful weather for wandering around outdoors. We had a little lunch there - red beans and rice for me, gumbo for him, then looked at the cattle, sheep, and goats as well as the commercial exhibits. Neither of us felt moved to make any other purchases though. No llamas today, alas.

What else? Let's see . . . nothing new at work, just the usual suspects grumbling and thinking of quitting. Not that I would blame anyone. Heck, I might move on myself if there was anything I could do that anyone else would pay me to do. In an effort to bring the library into the 21st century, I spent some time Friday getting our schedule on the website. If anyone bothers to look, it could be useful.

I'm still spending about an hour every night helping hubby search for a new job.

Oh, and you know how I wrote that my little blue car was gone? Well, it's back. The guy bought it for his wife and she wanted something larger so we took it back and had the repairs done.

songs from a station wagon

Well, the Mava-mobile is gone. I'm really sad to no longer have my little blue wagon, but it had simply developed too many problems and needed too much money put into it. I don't know what I can do about getting a new personalized license plate for the Beetle, which I'll be driving now.

At this moment I have a little black dog curled up behind my chair in a sunny spot on the floor. I'm pleasantly full of tofu and brown rice and apple. I wish I could simply be content in this moment but there are many changes afoot so my mind is in a bit of a whirl.

to the dogs or whoever

How could I have failed to post about the biggest news of the year?

I got a dog! A little black dog, more specifically. Fluffy. Rescue dog. Supposed to be a mix of Pomeranian and spaniel. Ish.

Anyway, his name is Tybee (aka Tybers, Tyberius, and Ty-Ty). Even hubby loves him already. He's a sweet and friendly little guy. He's got me walking about 30 minutes almost every day, at a brisk pace (his short little legs really move). He's great in the car and doesn't have accidents in the house. I do feel bad about leaving him alone while I'm at work but he's very very happy to see me when I get home.

In other news: I'm ready to move from this house (I'm pretty sure of that) into a smaller one more reasonable for just two people. We've been looking already. Of course when T gets a plan into his head, he wants to plunge forward, so I'm having to drag my heels a bit to be sure we're doing the right thing. We're looking at some that are very close to the best park in town, which would make it really convenient for Tybee-walking. The downsides, of course, would be less room for guests and no more pool. Boo hoo. I'd manage somehow.

What else? Let's see. I'm excited about the upcoming new music: an album from Moby and one from R.E.M., plus an R.E.M. tour (woot!). I'm pretty sad that they'll be at SXSW this year when my spring break is the next week, but I may take a half-day off to go try to get into the venue or at least hang around outside listening (I'm hoping they'll be in the outdoor "amphitheatre" of the place).

Work. Oh my. Things have happened that I cannot share here, but the situation is depressing and frustrating and annoying. How's that? At least I still get lots of pleasure from individual students and am enjoying my involvement with Natural Helpers, Interact, and even Culture Club.

And hubby just sold my car. Yes, the mava-mobile is going bye-bye. It's been having too many problems and we don't want to put money into it, so he sold it to a co-worker who can do the repairs himself. A good investment for that guy, and it gets a problem off our hands. Looks like I'll be in the little green Beetle for a while.