Rust Never Sleeps

Early this afternoon, having done all our morning errands in three different places, we headed out in the car again and over the GW Bridge to see Mom in her rehab place. We got no further than a mile or two past the bridge when we were beset by a flat tire. I learnt a few things: (1) the NJ Turnpike is considered a private road, so AAA had to put me in touch with their service folks (and I could have just called them directly by dialing #95); (2) we do indeed have a spare tire, which you think I'd have known/remembered after 20 years of owning this car; (3) NJT sends out different folks for towing and for changing tires, which I will bear in mind should this ever happen again, heaven forbid; (4) one should not eat a pluot right before venturing out on an hour-long drive as it will wake up one's intestines at the most inconvenient time; (5) it is almost exactly five miles as the crow flies from where we were stranded to the Mavis Discount Tire place, and of course we are not crows. Anyway, Mavis informed us that the culprit was a rusty wheel rim, which had gotten a hole in it that was letting air out from the tire they'd just put on like three weeks ago. They gave me a discount on a new tire (hence the name!), I paid for new windshield wipers as well as I needed them, and I'll be scheduling yet another trip to replace the rims (I have to call them in advance so they can order the parts) so this doesn't recur.

And it got me thinking, as this blog turns 22 years old today, about how everything accumulates rust after awhile. My joints and tendons are far creakier than my vehicle and, as with the car, maintenance is the watchword. I can't do what I did 22 years ago, few of us can so, rather than wallowing in FOMO of my friends leading very different lives, I'm grateful I can still get around locally and navigate two flights of stairs and do my paying job well and take day trips by either public or private transportation. I will probably never make a living from writing, but as long as it's something I still enjoy I will continue to pursue it, time and inclination permitting. If that means creaking by with only Silly Sites here and pithy comments on Facebook, so be it, but it's something. And it's still a pleasure. Thanks for still being here.