The Turning Point...

 ...or the Point of No Return , whichever it turns out to be.

  I will soon delete this post, am writing it only to use the written words to clarify the events in my own mind.

 Friday, April 11, started out like any other day. At 12 a.m., I had done wordle and Connections, and as usual waited for Spelling Bee which comes on at 3 a.m.  I paused the game and went back to bed, as usual,  to complete the game later in the day.  But in the morning I decided I'd better get my NYS Income Tax done, don't want to pay that penalty after a hefty assessment already. It took a while to download and fill out the forms, so I waited until the post office opened after lunch to mail them.

  And here is the start of the nightmare. As I've done thousands of times, I stop my car so I am able to see any oncoming traffic coming over the bridge. I would never assume nothing is coming. So I would have braked to probably a full stop. But as I stepped on the gas pedal to turn onto State Street, the engine revved up to full speed and I was unable to stop the car. I've never driven so fast anywhere in the entire village, not to mention rounding a curve. I couldn't stop and then I  saw a vehicle, some kind of orange truck,  ahead of me, about at Brundige's store. I knew I was going to smash into it. I thought I could drive off to the right into a ditch, but no user-friendly ditch is there. I thought of turning off the key, but remembered hearing this was a bad idea because then you'd lose steering. Suddenly the car returned to normal, and I was able to proceed to the post office and mail my taxes. I was afraid to trust my car, and had parked  by the library entrance, planning to leave it there and call somebody for a ride home. But the area was a swamp and I thought I'd chance driving  down to Valley Auto. I pulled in there, but there was no open spot I'd trust to drive into, so very slowly, I drove home.  

  I want to make plain: NO, the floor mat was not bunched up. I consulted with D. and also with Chatbot, and learned that engine revving can be caused by a stuck throttle, not unheard of in older cars, like a 2012 Honda. I do try to do my own dirty work (always aware of Barbara's odyssey). I figured and was advised that the best course would be to take the car to the dealership. I called Rensselaer Honda, spoke to Greg, who seemed to understand and made the earliest available appointment, Wed, April 16. He asked if I would wait or drop the car off. I said drop off. I knew they have a nice waiting room there but I don't hang out much anymore. 

 That evening Joe T. showed up, heard my sad tale,  and took the car for a trip around town and reported nothing seemed too far out of the ordinary. After he left, I recalled that Greg at the dealership had asked me if the lights came on during the engine surge. He said I would have noticed, but in truth the very last thing on my mind would have been noticing lights. So I decided to go start the car to see if any lights were lit. I took the key that I thought Joe had used, a Honda key, but not my usual key. STUPID!!!It was the key that had broken off at Stewart's a few weeks ago , and it did so again. I tried to pull it out, but even with the help of pliers, it wouldn't budge. So now my car is dead in the driveway. Can't go anywhere.  I'm eating leftover leftovers.

 The next day, or I guess it was Sunday, Ben showed up, listened to that sad tale, and was able to extract that broken key. But the broken off stub had evidently been left in the "on" position and the battery was dead. Ben used his car to jump the battery, got the car running, drove it for a bit, and parked it in the driveway.

  So today, Monday,  encouraged by the car seeming to not be suging ahead, I decided to overcome my fears and drive to the P.O. to mail a rare ebay sale. I used my own good key, inserted it in the ignition and nothing would move. I jiggled the steering wheel, turned it, the key was useless. 

  As I mentioned. I try to conduct my own affairs, so what to do. Joe T. is out of town. I called AARP Roadside Assistance, spoke to a robot, who offered 2 choices---battery jump or tow. I chose tow. I would have wanted a tow to Troy but the robot said the nearest garage, Valley Auto, and I would be contacted tomorrow. OK, I'll start there, I thought. But the tow truck arrived at 6 p.m. today. I attempted to tell him that my car was dead, but he said all he needed was to put it in Neutral. He scoffed when I said nothing would move, but he had to change his mind and resort to what he called "opening the door", which meant inserting a sharp tool into a fingernail-sized  compartment on the console, springing some small configuration out to release something that releases something else. Anyway, he and a helper loaded my car onto the tow truck and left my driveway, about  6:30 this evening. You'd think that might be the end of the story for now, but you'd be wrong.

  Less than 10 minutes after leaving, the tow truck driver called me with a question:  "Who at the Old  Country Farm in Johnsonville is going to receive my car?"      O Lordy.