No one really cheats death, but sometimes she's willing to look the other way.

The windshield wipers began to slow down while I was on the highway. The warning light for the ABS braking system came on. I lost the power steering. All the remaining warning lights lit up. I made it to the exit, through the traffic light and into a truck stop before the car stopped running. An electrical failure. Probably I'll need a new alternator, I was thinking. I called AAA for a tow. I called Jimmy's shop and asked if I could have it brought in. I called work and told them I wasn't going to make it. I called an Uber. 

The Uber driver was a Brazilian man who talked with me through the entire ride. He maintained steady eye contact in the rearview mirror while driving. We talked about many things including cultural differences. He observed that here, most people stay in their own box and don't talk to each other much. That's me. He said his wife's parents drive him crazy - she's an American - because they talk only about the stock market. He said it's easier to buy things here, but the people are often not as friendly or social as they are in Brazil. We don't seem to spend our time here enjoying life. Maybe it's the weather. In Brazil, he said, there's 11 months of summer. He lived in the UK for a few years too and said the people there were terrible. 

My friend at the shop let me know that in addition to the alternator I'll need a ball joint and tie rod ends on the front end. In fact, he told me, he can't let me drive it in this condition. The ball joint was actually falling out. He said if that had occurred at high speed the wheel would have come off and I'd have likely rolled the car. My morning and evening drives - 3 hours - are mostly highway driving at 75 to 80 miles per hour. He said he couldn't take it if anyone else he knew died. Three men we grew up with, our age,  have died since the last time we spoke less than six months ago. One had heart problems and got Covid-19. Another guy, strong as an ox, even when we were kids, had a sudden massive heart attack. I don't know what happened to the third. 

Sometimes a breakdown is a blessing.