I’m lying in bed alive and well while Craig watches the Nebraska football game. But! Without Durand Toyota of Bellows Falls, VT we would probably be dead, frozen solid, and half eaten by wolves on the shoulder of Route 91. Maybe archeologists would discover us 50,000 years from now like Lucy the prehistoric woman and declare us miracles of science. Thanks to Dennis and Curtis and the wonderful folks at Durand, we will avoid making headlines in 52,009 AD!

It was a morning that started off like any other. I put on five pairs of pants, four pairs of socks, six shirts, two coats, two pairs of gloves, ear warmers, a neck warmer, a hat, a helmet, goggles, and boots. It was after all THREE degrees in Vermont when we woke up for a day of snowboarding. Then, outfitted like a human snowball, Craig rolled me to the car and we got ready to master the slopes. Now I would have thought nothing much was wrong with Craig’s car, but he declared it a state of emergency, something about “no throttle response.” Sounds sexual to me, but Craig assured me it was vehicle related.

The Nebraskan started to panic, flicking on the hazards and driving on the shoulder of the highway. I was busy doing some limbering stretches for my half pipe mastery so I just wanted him to take the car straight to the slopes and leave it to die near the mountain. But no! The car wouldn’t have it, barely puttering to exit five and rolling into the magically placed Durand Toyota.

Now I would never have guessed that the nicest man angels, mangels if you will, worked at a Toyota dealership in Vermont, but what do I know. When we walked into Durand, they immediately assured us they would fix whatever problem our sad car was ailing from and gave us a brand new Prius to use right away so we could make our snowboarding lesson on time. All this while also greeting regular customers who they knew by name, asking about children and ailments and the like. It was amazing to watch.

If we had broken down in my beloved Washington this is not what would have happened. In DC, frowning employees would have told us that our car had two days to live unless they replaced the entire chassis, the wheels, and repainted it. They would also remind us that the master mechanic was out of town and we had to wait two weeks for anything to be done. Thank god this all happened in Vermont.

All snug in our Prius, Craig and I made it to our snowboarding lesson and happily butt planted all day long while seven-year-olds jumped over our limp bodies. I owe my bruises to Durand Toyota – hurrah! Tomorrow, back to the hills!

Assistant Service Manager Dennis Pearce not only gave us a shiny Prius to drive and make sure we got to our snowboarding lesson on time, but he actually cared that we were stranded in 14 layers of clothing and didn't want to thumb it to the ski resort. No one would be this nice in Washington DC. I love Vermont!

Assistant Service Manager Curtis Green kept me in stitches while Craig babbled words I don't understand like "car" and "problem." While we were there a few other customers came in and Curtis knew them all by name! It was like having a car repaired in Friendly-ville.

Tis I! The queen of falling on the left buttock. It really is attractive to have an arse that is half white and half blue.