BC - Wed-Thu, 11/19-20/08

Jake says they have to transport Aidan to Pine Valley where there are specialists on call and MRI machines, etc. Apparently there ARE no modern medical facilities or doctors anywhere in between Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania (like in Miami, for instance). And then Ryan had to pay a bribe to the police in order for him and Annie to be able to leave with Emma. Puerto Rico is PART of the United States -- why is the show acting like it's a corrupt, third world country?

Who is doing Kendall's makeup while she is in a coma? When she opened her eyes while the tape of Spike singing was playing, it was VERY obvious that she is either wearing false eyelashes or VERY heavy coats of mascara. There's also the eyeliner on upper and lower lids, lipstick and eyeshadow. Maybe THAT'S part of the therapy, too. I wonder if she's wearing designer diapers.

I think Tad is looking a little TOO gray lately. It's probably natural, but it definitely makes him look older than he needs to look.

I notice that the linens on the Martin bed do NOT match the curtains in the bedroom as I had previously said, but I think they DO match curtains and/or the couch downstairs.

TAN/OT:

Sorry I'm late with my Boogies -- my son got married on Saturday and I had a busy week! Actually, he got REmarried. He and his bride were married in Japan in late September, but that was more of a legal formality so that he could get the spousal visa paperwork started before he had to return to the U.S. from his military assignment. Saturday was the REAL ceremony and it went splendidly! My daughter-in-law was lovely, my son was very handsome in his Army dress uniform, the weather was beautiful, the reception was marvelous and they are clearly VERY much in love!

I had a VERY traumatic experience on the drive to the wedding from San Jose to Pacific Grove (a town next to Monterey) on Friday night around 9:30 or 10. I had a rather spectacular tire failure on Highway 101. I'd say it was a blowout, but it wasn't -- someone had SLICED MY TIRE! I'm guessing that the lengthwise slice (covering about a third of the rear passenger side tire) happened when my car was stolen in September and the thief(s) could not remove the tire because of the wheel lock. They may have attempted to get to the rims by slicing their way through, but gave up on that method. Because the slice was long and aligned with other grooves in the tire, it wasn't noticeable. When the car reached sustained highway speeds for a while, it reached a point where it could no longer withstand the pressure and heat.

I was in the far left lane when the vibrations started, had slowed and ALMOST reached the right lane and the relative safety of the shoulder when the car suddenly fishtailed several times, and then VIOLENTLY pivoted left BACK onto the freeway across all three lanes toward the center cement divider; then, a split-second before impact, it suddenly jerked back sharply to the right, either in response to my attempt to avoid the divider or because the tire had, by then, crumpled inward OFF the rim and was in the way. I careened back across toward the right lane and a probable crash into the chain-link fence behind the shoulder (which was, at least, preferable to a crash with another vehicle), but then the car suddenly went into a spin a couple of times and ended up FACING oncoming traffic in the right lane! Then, at the very last second, it skidded sideways into a PERFECTLY parked position on the shoulder (albeit facing the wrong way). The landing was like that scene in one of the Ace Ventura, Pet Detective movies wherein he drives to a parking lot in a near-catastrophic manner, yet lands PERFECTLY into a cramped parking spot and he exclaims: "LIKE A *GLOVE*!" If anyone had been filming it, it would have ended up on the evening news as a narrow escape story and for sure on YouTube!

I sat there STUNNED for a few moments, marveling at the fact that I was still alive -- I was **ALIVE**! Not only that, but I hadn't hit ANYTHING and didn't have a scratch on me!!! I had fully expected to be **DEAD** by that point and, in fact, had accepted it as inevitable when the car suddenly jerked back across the road and I sped toward the center divider at about 50mph; I was briefly relieved to have missed hitting it or another car when it veered away, but then I spun out, at which point I fully expected to be hit by and/or to hit several vehicles on the way to hitting the fence, but that didn't happen either. Then I was FACING oncoming traffic in the right lane, SURE to be hit head on, and yet I slid off the road completely at the very last moment! I still cannot BELIEVE I came through it unscathed, other than being dazed, terrified and having a tremendous adrenalin rush that left me shaky for hours. It was literally a MIRACLE!

I later realized that the bare tire rim connecting with the road was probably what caused the repeated sudden and violent shifts in direction. Once it got onto the dirt, rocks and sparse vegetation on the other side of the shoulder, it no longer had the hard surface to easily pivot upon and I was able to stop with no more violently sudden course changes.

Many thanks to the paramedics who, not far behind, had witnessed the accident, stopped to make sure I was all right, called the CHP and stayed with me until they arrived, and to the CHP who turned my car around (their idea/order -- it never occurred to ME), contacted AAA and stayed with me until they arrived. Thank you, AAA, for coming out so quickly and getting me back on the road so that I could be at my son's wedding the next day (I drove (SLOWLY) probably another 40-50 miles or so on the little doughnut spare since there was no place open to replace the tire at that time of night). Thank you to my sister for her loving arms to greet me when I finally arrived at the hotel (and for getting our parents there and settled in -- no small feat)! Also, kudos to the many other drivers on the highway who somehow managed not to crash into me in the process! I'm sorry that YOU probably about had a heart attack trying to avoid my wildly careening car!

To the person or persons who stole my car, kept most of its interior parts, and probably sliced my tire: Among so MANY serious and ongoing problems you have caused for me, you also nearly **KILLED** me and many others. Nice going, ASSHOLE! You WILL have to answer for this one day -- Karma WILL get you!

Robin "sic em, Karma!" Coutellier

P.S. to "Round The Clock Tires" in Gilroy: Your answering machine said you closed at 4pm. WTF? What part of "round the clock" did you not understand when you picked THAT name? That's not even PARTWAY around the clock!