So. The beat goes on.

Last week, Paul had to go over to his folks' place and get his mother a few things. He dropped off my work folder on the way, as it's nearby, and then stopped in at the WalMart near his folks. He got her stuff and came out and was backing out of his parking spot when "CLUNK!", his pickup truck dipped down to the right. He got out and saw that his right front wheel was half-way off the truck!

If anyone knows about cars, it was the ball joint that had gone.

He had forgotten his cellphone, so he got a passer-by to let him call AAA. He waited there for over an hour for the tow truck to come. He never made it to his folks' place. He called me and asked that I meet him over in Marblehead at the mechanic's shop where the tow-truck driver would drop off his sick truck.

Meanwhile, back here, I was having my own drama that evening. Unbeknownst to Paul, I was experiencing pains in my head like I'd never had before. I don't mind recurrence of pains I've had and have lived thru, but these lancinating stabbing pains going up the side of my head and out thru my scalp were scary to me. It was hot here and I had not had the A/C on much that day, trying to conserve power as much as possible. I got up from the computer to walk across the room and ZAP! Right up-side the head! My first thought was a stroke. I backed up slowly to my bed and lay down. Stayed very still. Those pains came back a few times in waves. I thought this was IT for me. Running thru my brain was the question of whether I wanted Paul to take me to the Emergency Room (and this was a Friday night and, around here, you don't want to be in the ER on a Friday night if you can help it). I was wondering how I would get my big load of work done over the weekend that I had. Pains would shoot up and stop.

Then the phone rang.

I did not answer it. I didn't want to stand up and get the pains again, maybe the fatal pain!

The phone rang another time.

I still didn't get up. Let it ring... I am dying here!

A third time the phone rang, so I dragged up off the bed and answered it. It was Paul, with lots of noise in the background, asking me to drive to Marblehead and pick him up at Harold's (car mechanic).

I was in shock. He wanted me to go out and drive in the dark while I was having a stroke or even worse? How could this be happening?

I told him about the pains, and he said "You sound OK to me."

So off I went. Threw caution to the wind and went to Harold's. Of course I got there way before they did. I put on my new Bonnie Tyler CD (with "Heartache" on it) and played that incredible song, real loud, for a while before the tow-truck hauling Paul and his truck rounded the corner and came in.

We got home about 10 p.m. (which is about 2 hours past my usual bedtime!) and off I went to bed after catching a few minutes of the ballgame.

The next morning, I opened my eyes to NO PAINS! And I haven't had one single pain since then. I have no idea what that was all about.

But Paul's truck is now incapacitated down at Harold's who has to fit him into his already busy schedule and it could be a week, two weeks, or more before it's fixed.

Meanwhile he is using my car, and I am stranded here with no car. Which is really OK with me, because if I can't go out, I can't get into trouble.

I think.

Cheers,

Bex