No, the baby hasn't been born yet.

So, here's what happened with the car. As many of you know, we've been a two car family ever since we've been a family. She brought her car to the marriage, and I brought mine. Alas, alack, her car died recently of natural causes. Old age. The head gasket went bye-bye, and fixing it was going to cost more than the worth of the car (even if the car were running perfectly). And so we went from being a two car family to a one car family just like that.

We started to think about whether we should get a second car and, if so, what kind the second vehicle should be. We want something safe, something to haul around the kid in, etc., etc. Boring grown-up stuff. Of course, that didn't stop us from test driving a Subaru WRX which, I must say, we both enjoyed mightily. Lots of vroooooom in that one.

Anyway, we started looking at possible contenders, but the big obstacle was money, insofar as we need money to get a second car. Money we don't have. The recurring advice from some quarters was, "Well, *we* used to be a one car family, and that was with two kids, and it worked out just fine for us!" And, of course, it's true that we should be able to get by with one car if we have no alternative. We're resourceful people.

But then again, if we're so resourceful, why can't we figure out a way to handle bringing on board a car payment?

This is what writers in the biz refer to as "back story." The set up. The story before the story. Now here's the story:

I got into an accident with my car just a few weeks after her car gave up the ghost. Very simply: while I was executing a left turn, a car in the oncoming lane executed a collision. His car was driveable after the accident; mine was not. (And, no, we didn't have rental car coverage as part of our insurance package.)

Nobody was injured (although my pride and pocketbook aren't doing so well), and my car has about a month or so worth of repair work to look forward to before I get it back. There was no ticket issued at the scene. Fault was not assessed at the scene, either, but should be soon.

Ironically, the fellows in the other car were Mormons who were in town doing missionary work. My insurance agent happens to also be a Mormon. I haven't asked yet if this qualifies as an act of God.

My passenger was a friend named Tom. He likes to embellish the story a little, and I like his version even though it's not entirely true:

"In my version I was knocked out unconscious, and came to, saw the two guys in the white shirts and name tags, and freaked out because I had picked the wrong religion."

Thus, we were rendered a no-car family.

Being a no-car family when you are about to have a baby is very interesting. For example, if we were to take a cab to the hospital and then take another cab back home from the hospital, we would legally have to have a car seat installed in the cab before the hospital police could let us go home. Or, we could simply hop on a transit bus with our little one in a carrier and no seat belts or car seats would be required. Go figure.

As you might imagine, we'll be taking on a car payment, instead.

My Passat didn't passat very well. I hope our new Dodge does a better job of living up to its name.