Yesterday my car would not start for the second time in two weeks. I had a dentist appointment in 15 minutes. In dress boots, I took off and ran/fast walked two miles. Made it in 25 minutes. It was a cold sunny day so I didn't overheat.

As usual, I forgot my phone and remembered after a half mile. Didn't want to turn around. Meanwhile, the dentist's receptionist tried to call me. "We were all worried about you," she said when I arrived. "You are always early or on time." I felt bad about being late.

My ex-husband Terry and I are friends. I asked the receptionist to call Terry and ask him to pick me up. He goes to the same dentist. Terry was there when I walked out. Hooray!

Terry tried to jump my battery. Nothing. The smart thing he did was leave his car running for a few minutes with jumper cables attached to my battery. Still didn't start.

Arranged a tow truck through my car insurance. When the tow truck arrived the driver said, "Try starting your car first. Often cars start when I arrive." My car started. Surprise!

"Terry must have given you enough juice to start your car," he said. I did not know that. It's probably a basic principle that I missed. My wealthy father never fixed anything or worked on cars. He bought a new car every year.

"I feel overly proud and triumphant when I refill the windshield cleaning fluid," I told the tow truck driver. We laughed.

The last time I bought a battery for my car it cost $100. That was over 15 years ago. To my shock, the new battery was $266. Inflation and the pandemic shipping crisis.

An employee of O'Reilly's Auto Parts installed the new battery and recycled the old battery.

It's better than monthly car payments.