BRICO'S EVENING... TAKE TWO

You are about to learn something interesting about the way the brain of Brico works. Last night my jeep broke down. The belt and waterpump busted. The cost will be several hundred dollars with labor. Not the best time of the year for that to happen right? As I'm shelling out mullah left and right to make sure Aspen's, Ed's and Tish's stockings are filled to the top and the the base of the tree can't be seen through all the wrapped gifts under it the last thing I need is to put presents under the mechanics tree too! So I could be pretty darned ticked off at the circumstance. "F**king A already! Like I needed THIS right now damnit hellfire! Cut the shit, god! And here I was planning on doing volunteer work too. Nice! Reeeeaaaaaal nice! Thanks alot!" But the thing is, that's only half the story. What really happened last night was the biggest travesty of my life. I had just picked up Aspen. We were heading home when the belt broke. I instantly lost power steering and ran the jeep off the road on a turn and rolled it several times. The final impact put Aspen (who was wearing her seatbelt!) into a deep coma. The catscans show pretty significant brain swelling. Last night as I paced back and forth for several hours in the waiting room I never for a moment thought about the damage to the jeep and what a new belt and water pump with installation labor would cost me. All that entered my mind was my comatose Aspen laying lifeless with hundreds of cold wires sticking out of her. All I wanted was to hold her again and make her laugh with some tickles and zerberts (sp?). But now, unexpectedly, my life had changed by inconceivable proportions. There were no words to describe how much in shock I was knowing my little girl was now fading away from me. An eternity went by that night with my heart knotted up tightly in my stomach. I could do nothing but vomit repeatedly. I cried a river bigger than the Nile. But then something miraculous happened. The Powers That Be decided that the circumstances that had been dished out in this scenario were a little over the top. Aspen nor I were deserving of this fate. With that, time was set back several hours. I was again in my jeep at the turn in the road. But I was on my way to pick up Aspen. The belt did break. I did lose power steering. I did run the jeep off the road... a bit... until she came to a smooth stop on the shoulder. I secured a second vehicle and picked Aspen up 30 minutes late. I tucked her in safe and sound last night. She awoke this morning in good spirits to my usual tickles and zerberts (sp?) as I got her ready for school. An hour later I got the jeep to a service station where upon the mechanic told me "I'm sorry man. I know this isn't what you want to hear right before Christmas and all. Your belt and pump are shot. It's gonna run you a few hundred bucks." "No problem at all." I say, (relieved I wasn't speaking to a doctor) with what to him must have seemed a very huge and odd grin under the circumstances.