Car-plunk!

There are rare moments in life when you hear a song and its words describe exactly how you're feeling or the situation you're in right at that time. Over the weekend, I had one of those moments.

Saturday afternoon, I drove down to Provo to see the Carl Bloch exhibit that is currently on display at the BYU Museum of Art - or, at least, that was my intention when I began my journey. Not long after I made it onto the freeway heading south, however, my car did everything in its power to keep me from reaching my destination. I could tell early on that it was struggling to shift from one gear to another, and by the time I reached the big hill at the Point of the Mountain, it really struggled to climb to the top.

By the time I came down the other side and into the Alpine/Lehi area - which seemed to take forever, cars passing and honking at me as I puttered along in the slow lane - I finally decided to pull off at the next exit and try to assess the damage as best I could. Not totally defeated but definitely discouraged, I pulled into a Maverik parking lot.

My cousin Scott, who lives in Lehi and knows a lot more about cars than I do, came over to look at the transmission fluid, and together we frowned at the engine and talked about my predicament. We agreed there wasn't much more I could do at that point - the local mechanic being closed for the weekend - than to try to drive it home on the frontage road and then through the streets of Salt Lake City, avoiding the freeway as much as possible and using my hazard lights.

As I walked inside the Maverik to call my date and explain the situation to her, the first thing I heard over the P.A. system were these words from The Cars' song "Drive" from the '80s: "Who's gonna drive you home tonight?"

My thoughts exactly.

Fortunately, in the long run, I was able to salvage a pretty enjoyable Saturday out of a rather distressing situation. My date was very patient and understanding and actually drove to Lehi to pick me up, and together we attended a later session (it's that busy that you have to make an appointment) of the Bloch art exhibit, which was fantastic. And though I've not had the best luck with cars over the past year, I did eventually make it home, completing what is normally a 40-minute drive in just over twice that time. (Salt Lake City, seen via the scenic route, is actually a nice place to drive through, south to north.)

The car, in the meantime, might be in the shop for quite some time. Anybody want to give me a lift?