Ode to the Brown Beast, an homage to the old 1985 Four-Runner that I took to Alaska on my first book tour - and this was from my very first email about my first disaster on the road trip. Yay!

Ode to the Brown Beast
King of Resilience

(At least, I hope so)

Cursed be the blockhead that twisted the oil cap too
lightly,

The Brown Beast lost precious blood on the first run
of his long journey

Clanking its death rattle into Tok, Alaska,
the rider of the Brown Beast was alarmed to
receive the news from a twelve year old with braces
that the Brown Beast would be lucky to make it to
Anchorage...

the Brown Beast would need bypass surgery, if not a
transplant...

"It's got an old heart, and old hearts get tired,"
said the shaman grandfather of the boy.

The boy offered to buy the Brown Beast, if the rider
cared to sell...

Fear not!

The Brown Beast rattled and rolled its way out of Tok,

determined to make its way to the City of Muck.

The death rattled wound down to an occasional clank on
slowing to a walk and stop, and the rider was
reassured, somewhat.

The Brown Beast made its way to the city and comes to
life when called upon to do its duty.

But the need for a doctor is imminent, if not
immediate...

Will the Brown Beast ride again, valiantly to the end
of the road, holding out for the Carnival?

Or is it a terminal case?

Either way it sucks that my emergency fund is needed,
oh... immediately.

At least I had a place to crash...