Friday, November 24, 2023

 Friday, November 24, 2023 

  After two days of getting in my electric/hybrid car and seeing the blue bars at zero, something was clearly wrong. I hadn’t just forgotten to plug the car in. I called the dealership. Alex gave me troubleshooting steps. None of them worked. He asked me to turn the accessories on without turning the motor on. I was to do that by pressing the starter button without touching the brake. He asked me to tell him what showed up on the screen far to the left where the energy data was. It was blank. I knew the problem was a big one then. Alex disappeared. I couldn’t get the service station back on the phone. I called to make an appointment through their automatic service. That’s where I went this morning. I had an eight-fifteen appointment.

   The receptionist told me it would take about an hour. I brought my computer with me to work on the updates. A picnic table with an umbrella was set out in the open air. The seats were still wet from yesterday’s rain. I found a dry spot until the sun came out full force. Then I moved to the other picnic table in what must have been a showroom. The doors were open at both ends. It was like sitting in a large tent with the flaps lifted up. Wow! I got more writing done there than I do at home. I loved it. After an hour, I went to the intake desk to find out what was going on. They would need more time. I walked to Roasted Toasted Café for a Greek Salad sandwich and read.

  I walked back down to the garage, wondering what was going on. I was right. The mechanic told me there was something major wrong with the car. They would get the information from Kia within the next twenty-four hours. I was to drive the car normally, and they would call when Kia told them the next step. The car could function as a hybrid as long as I never have to go to Hilo. The problem is these hills. 

     I live on the side of a mountain, Hualalai. Everyone lives on a  mountain in Hawaii. They’re all a result of volcanic eruptions. All the volcanos north of Mauna Kea are dead. Four on the big island are dormant or active. Driving up the steep hills consumes an enormous amount of energy. My friend, Steve, has a Toyota. He says it only averages thirty mph here and is talking about local travel, not traveling across the island through the pass between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

  I’ve been doing somewhat better with grief. I’m trying to surrender to it. It can feel good if I do it right. It is much better if I stop fighting it and sink into the feeling. As Buddha said, it is craving and aversion that do us in.