Scratch that last post.....

The bad news: Chris is broke down in Des Moines.

The good news: Chris is broke down in Des Moines--instead of on the interstate!

He thought he missed a turn, so got off the road he was on and ended up in a Target parking lot, where he suddenly noticed smoke coming from under the hood of his new-to-him '95 Saab. He luckily knows a thing or two about cars, so was pretty sure it was the AC belt, which instead of being a separate belt he could cut, was one of those serpentine universal belts which runs everything at once--AC, water pump, power steering, etc. He figured a bearing somewhere was wearing on the belt, and decided to hang in Des Moines for the night, as he had just missed closing at the Saab dealership there.

Oh, yeah, some other good news is that Des Moines has a Saab dealership!

He just called from the Motel 6 parking lot, 2 blocks from where the belt finally broke. "I don't have power steering anymore," he announced. He'll call the dealership in the morning to see if it's safe to drive there without the belt, and we'll see tomorrow how the dice shake out on this little unexpected detour.

Well, the first part of Chris' Big Adventure is certainly adventurous so far!

Michelle, the wonder girlfriend, called me back just a minute ago and offered to drive out there from Lincoln if necessary--"it's only about 4 hours from here!" Chris had called her, and i did too, as she has her (local # for me) cell phone with her.

Wow. I'm so glad he stopped, or else he could have been stranded on the interstate with no options but a 75-mile towing bill on top of whatever the belt replacement will cost!

Counting the blessings!
:)