[Scappoose]

And I consider myself lucky, because the thing lit up after 25 miles of my 30 mile morning commute, which is right when I pull in the babysitter's driveway. First I thought I smelled the clutch, which was odd since I just putted up the driveway. I turned it off and smoke started coming out from under the hood. I popped it, got the kids out of the car and out of harm's way, opened the hood and there was a nice little campfire on top of the alternator. And it was spreading. I ran in the house and she happened to have a fire extinguisher. After emptying the whole bottle, it was out.

Moral of the story: First, don't put off getting that fire extinguisher, like I've been doing. A quarter mile down the road I would have stood there and watched it go up in flames. Never would have put it out without an extinguisher. And second, get the new plug for the alternator if you swap it. When I replaced it 6 months ago, I had no idea it was supposed to be replaced. The guy at NAPA didn't say anything like, "Boy, you should get the new plug because it will GO UP IN FLAMES." NAPA says there is a sheet of paper in the box that absolves them of fault if the connector plug isn't replaced. I didn't see one. Why they don't just put a connector in the box and raise the price, I don't know. Ford doesn't do this either, from what the dealer told me, though they're well aware of the problem.

The worst part? Following the flatbed to the Ford dealer on the freeway, watching two dips**ts in a mid-80s Camaro BERLINETTA pointing and laughing. The insurance adjustor is coming out today. Looks like alternator, wiring, radiator hose and air conditioner hose. I've already ordered the G3 upgrade kit.

So how was your day?