It is customary, or common, or just plain predictable that troubled minds, or a few over reaching ones, come up with presumably clever things to oil the choppy waters. I was on the bicycle and on a smaller street, just as fast in this situation as the mine field of a busier artery. I approached a four-way stop sign intersection and thought of my mentor, savvy of observation and of driving lore, as I observed no stopped/starting vehicles in my limited visibility and figured I would barely slow down: "Four-way express", a subset of the "California roll". Has it ever been uttered?

Southern California is arguably the home to the automobile fixation. Last month I made a grand total of two entries here and now I'm up to that quota, in this case concerning a second call from the mechanic he couldn't turn my ignition key and could I come to try? It recall the two times we had gas lines during the 1970's. It was on the news constantly: are we averaging 20 or 30 cars? How deep are the oil ministers' frowns? Or the petrol execs' smiles and accounts? Now I am sans the chariot and it tends to draw one's attention, as access to the far ends of our individual webs becomes a bigger chore.

Yes, my old heap. Even "mentor" will cry "Replace it!" as I come out of the closet: There are three different keys now: ignition, "shotgun" door and trunk. The topper is thanks to an unavailable part I can't lock the driver door and use a combination lock and bike chain overnight. So it was otherwise a Sartre-level run to the shop, wondering whither and how extensive the problem(s). Well, while he chatted with another driver I saw it was the newest key (shotgun door) he had in the ignition! No, I left the keys on his desk the first time. This time, the right key was left in the ignition and the car started---but sloppily. Repairs, or bad news, are yet ahead.

On the way home I passed a high school that had been let out about 15 minutes and approached a three-way intersection being crossed by a female student. No trouble remotely desired, I was eyes down as I rolled through behind her and looked up to see I was interrupting a car making a left turn. Heads up, Dan.

We can spell "careful", if not 'express' it.