artcodex reblog

The van gave us quite a fright today. While we were refueling at an oasis, Jenn in her practical way decided to check the fluids — and good thing too because nary a drop of oil was left to be found in the tank!! Oh friends, I don’t know how long we had been driving ungreased, but we quickly bought a litre and poured it down that funnel. We thought we had averted danger once we had slaked the thirst of the mighty beast, and continued on. But that was not to be the end of our woes for the day. The engine light, the guiding star of many a seasoned traveler, kept pulsing on and off, driving us to near terror. Were we due for an engine failure? When consulted, the manual was inconclusive. The light, apparently, might behave erratically under certain conditions, and depending on the tilt of the vehicle in relation to the rotation of the earth. Not having an astrolabe at hand, we were left without a guide to correct action, and drove on in the hope that our dear outsized auto would see us through to our destination. Maybe in Minneapolis we will be able to track down an auto-astro nomer to forecast the mood of the minivan.