Thursday following a half day of lecture and a post rotational exam for Family Medicine, I topped off the tank of my 91’ Subaru and headed out of Kingman for Phoenix. I was scheduled to catch a plane to Seattle the following morning so that I might join my family for Easter Sunday.

The drive from Kingman to Phoenix is risky because is it a major route to Vegas, and because it is only two lanes wide. Other than the high potential for car crashes it is a relatively boring three hours. This trip was accident free. The boring factor was increased slightly due to construction that caused back ups for about an hour. Nothing else rates quite as high on the boredom scale as being parked in your car on the freeway reading a book and waiting for traffic to move again.

I arrived in Scottsdale some time around 8PM and pulled through the gate of my friends condo. I pull into the parking spot and as if on cue my car begins to make a metal-on-metal noise that indicates in no uncertain terms that I will not be driving the car again until it gets fixed.

I am, of course, thankful and pissed at the same time. Pissed that my car just broke down and thankful that it waited until I was at my destination. The alternative of breaking down on the narrow road in between Kingman and Phoenix makes getting poked with a stick sound good. Pouting, I stomp up to Tom and Amanda’s digs to let it sink in.

I let a half hour pass and go back to investigate. With flashlights in hand Tom and I pop the hood. I am fully expecting something to be grossly distorted and dripping oil, but of course the engine looks normal. Great. We both peak closer and I see fresh metal shavings on the power-steering pump belt. A close inspection of the pump reveals more shavings. Tom starts the car while I hover over said pump to verify, yup that’s the culprit. The rest must wait until tomorrow.

Up at the ass crack of dawn I locate a couple of Subaru dealers in the valley. Next is the call to AAA to get the tow truck on its way. Once the clock has started with them I find and actually talk to a mechanic that can get the car in that day, so at 7 AM I find myself down at the clubhouse waiting for the tow truck to arrive…