The best laid plans of mice and men..........

Our Dodge Intrepid has well over 100,000 miles logged on it. We replaced the engine a couple of years ago. It is starting to show signs of getting ready to quit. I am driving it to Cincinnati and back a minimum of 3 times a week. Russ always has the cell phone so I don't know what I will do if it ever actually quits on me between here and there. Russ's mother, who lives in the Houston, Texas area, no longer drives but still has a car. She offered it to us so we thought, for the price of a one-way ticket to Houston, we could have a car! It's older than our Dodge but has about 1/3 of the miles and has been pretty well cared for. Wednesday, Russ flew down to Houston. The car hasn't been driven in several months so it was determined that it needed a new battery so he got one and put it in. It seemed to be okay. Friday morning Russ said his goodbyes to his family and headed back to Ohio. He got as far as Hope, Arkansas when it died. He had it towed to a shop where they replaced the ignition something-or-other but that wasn't the problem. It got pretty late Friday night so Russ went to a motel. It was nice of the mechanic to stay so late trying to get him back on the road. I'm sure he has a life and was looking forward to going home. Anyway, he returned Saturday morning to continue trouble-shooting. After searching and discussions among the mechanics in Arkansas, Russ's brother in Houston (Russ's personal source for car repair advice), and Russ, the decision was made that the car would not be worth any further investment. Russ's brother is planning to make the long drive and tow the car somewhere at some point in the future. The one opportunity to get home without having to spend a lot more money and time was a bus leaving in an hour and a half. The mechanic graciously drove Russ to the bus station where he got on the bus despite the station being closed so he couldn't buy a ticket. He paid for the ride when he got to Little Rock and made it back to Dayton this morning (Sunday) just in time to walk the 2 blocks to church, change into the clothes I brought him, and lead the music for sacrament meeting. Immediately afterward, he got a ride home to get the Lincoln sedan and drive someone to the Columbus airport after which he drove to Cincinnati to meet his business partner to do a limousine event for the long evening. He will sleep on the couch at our daughter-in-law's in Cincinnati then get up early to take someone to the Cincinnati airport then turn around to come home before going to a job interview for part-time 911 dispatcher. I may get to see him before I leave to go down to Cincinnati to take care of my grandkids while Victoria goes to school. The bottom line is, we just spent a total of about $1,000 for nothing- well, except for an opportunity for Russ to see his mother, brother, and sister. I think we could have done it cheaper and with much less stress some other way. Oh well, hence the title of this post: "the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry" or whatever.