I’m reopening a blog post draft that I began almost six months ago, which wouldn’t be so bad if the first post hadn’t been about transmission trouble.

I’m no mechanic, but I know more about a failing transmission now than before I began this post—either time. And I know that the loss of a transmission signals one of two events—days of misery or an unfolding adventure.

Thankfully, both times I got to experience the adventure.

Adventure 1

My brother Daniel, my friend Jill, and I were 627 miles into our 2,000 mile drive home for vacation when our transmission gave out. That left us stranded on the shoulder of the interstate at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday night. Not good. Continue reading →