Well, it's been an eventful Saturday.

It did not start out that way. In fact, I was thinking to myself how it was going to be a quiet weekend, and that that was good. (hubris, maybe?)

I took my most recent quilt top down to the quilt shop, went to the Target for a few things, got some lunch, and was heading to the used-book store (my penultimate trip; after that it was the grocery store and then home).

I was waiting for the traffic to clear in the intersection so I could make a left turn. Then, when it was clear, I tried to accelerate and heard a very loud clunk.

My first thought was - dear God, I've hit something. (It didn't occur to me at the moment that the car was not going forward). I put the brake on, put it in park, and got out and ran around the car to see which tire was punctured or what had happened.

I saw nothing. Then, since there wasn't any traffic at the moment, I tried looking UNDER the car. Saw nothing. Got in, put it in gear, tried to go again.

No go.

I kind of freaked at that point, put the blinkers on, and got out to find help.

(and curse my cell phone company- for several years they sponsored a "roadside assistance" program and DROPPED it at the beginning of this very month.)

Found a pawn shop open (there was also a law office, a doctor's office, a bank - all closed as it was 12:30 pm on a Saturday)

The pawnshop guys both said "transmission" and shook their heads. One did send me out to try the lower gears in hopes of at least getting to a parking lot. No go. (And I didn't want to try reverse; traffic had picked up at that point).

So they called the one auto repair place in that town that's open on Saturdays. (Thank God it wasn't in my town - except for the fact that I could have then walked home - because we have NO auto repair places open on Saturdays any more. And I'm not even sure if there are tow places.). They got a tow from yet another company (the repair place doesn't tow any more).

And so I was back underway. The tow - which was for about five city blocks - cost $50 (again, curse my cell phone company for dropping roadside assistance). The man at the repair place looked it all over, checked the fluids, tested the CV joints, tried a couple other things. It would go in reverse but not in any of the forward gears. (I briefly entertained a thought of trying to get home going backwards but just as quickly rejected it).

So, it looks like the transmission. And I am carless.

He tried to help me find a rental-car place but the best possible would have been to wait (and pay) for Enterprise to bring one from their Dallas office as their Sherman office closes at noon on Saturdays. EVERY rental car place closes at noon on Saturdays.

Fortunately I keep an old local phone book in my car. So I started calling. Got the husband of one of my friends from church. He said his wife was in Sherman shopping and he'd try to call her. (Okay, so maybe cell phones are not so bad). He told me if he couldn't get her, he'd come himself.

About 10 minutes later he called back to say she was on her way. I almost cried when I saw her pull into the lot.

So, I'm carless. The auto-repair guy warned me it's going to be a couple thousand dollars to rebuild the transmission. My car is 6 years old (almost 7) but it has only 50,500 miles on it. So I'm gambling that the transmission rebuild will buy me at least 3 or 4 more years out of the car, and then I can think about buying a new car. (I am not ready to do that now. Not even with some places offering 0% financing. Mainly not emotionally ready and not ready to go through all the crap of dealing with salespeople, but also kind of not financially ready either.)

I can afford the repair - this is why I have an "emergency" fund in my savings account, this is why I live frugally most of the time - but it's still kind of upsetting. I have a ride to church tomorrow (for that matter, I could walk if necessary) and I can walk to work on Monday. And my friend promised me that she'd drive me to get my car when it was fixed if she was at all available (and if she isn't, I bet she'll send her husband or daughter or son-in-law to do it for me). I kind of hate being beholden to people for help like that, but what am I gonna do? The car is 25 miles away from me, I can't walk it, and even if I do rent a car to manage here in town (probably not necessary if the man's promise of "middle of this coming week" is correct), I couldn't drive a rented car down there and then drive my own car back, without someone to pick up the rental.

So, I don't have the "fresh" groceries I planned to get (but thank goodness I hadn't; had I bought anything frozen before the breakdown it'd be spoiled now.) If I need to, I can walk to the local dairy store that has some produce and some "basics" like yogurt and milk.

So, I don't know. I'm kind of wiped out now. (It was really hot in the car-repair waiting room. And the repair guy smokes like a chimney). And I'm still kind of freaked from what happened and from the helpless feeling of not having transportation. (And I'm trying not to freak out about 'what if there's some Big Major Emergency That People Have to Evacuate For before I get my car back')