As many of you may remember, I rode a bike out here for three years. I traded my Lexus GX460 SUV in for a Walmart special. You don’t miss what you don’t have, so all was well.

I was just grateful to have a roof over my head and my Social Security.

Through winter and summer, darkness and light, there I was, peddling what was left of my ass off.

A few months ago, a snowbird from Canada, who I became quite friendly with, (I even named my dog after him) offered to sell me the car he was using down here while he was escaping the harsh, Canadian winters.

This year, he told me he was going back up north and not be returning.

It was a little out of my range, so I took a grueling, 10 hour night shift job at Amazon for six weeks. (Ugh)

And when a gracious soul helped me with the rest, the deal was done.

I didn’t drive it much because I was working within walking distance at a place I really enjoyed. The biggest kick I got out having a car again, was taking my pooch for our evening rides.

What happened yesterday caused me to break out the bicycle pump. Again. Everything that could go wrong with a car, went wrong. The engine noises even scared my pooch.

Lights started flashing, strange beeps and a nasty smell.

When I finally limped the car home and into my garage, I rummaged through the glove box and found a service receipt from September 2021.

I called, and was there in 30 minutes.

After a quick inspection, the owner, a guy named Kyle, put his hand on my shoulder and asked me what I paid.

When I told him, he grimaced and said he was sorry, but my little Canadian friend was well aware of the terminal issues with the car.

So it looks like I’m back in the saddle again, older but no wiser. And soon to be a lot skinnier.

The one I really feel bad for is my dog, who not only lost his evening ride but has to have his name changed on Monday.  🙂