I clicked on the Mail button and there = was no Vanagon mail. After I deleted all the solicitors I went about my = chores still wondering why was there no mail. A couple of hours later I = clicked again and unbelievably there was no mail still from the List. I = started to miss my friends. What if there will never be mail again. = What am I gonna do? Sure I have no questions about fixing since the vans I = have all are in perfect order and don't seem to want to break soon. Then I = thought, what if all the other guys have no car troubles and they have no need to = ask for help. Man like to help, like to be needed. I really started = thinking that there must be something seriously wrong when I did not get any mail = in the afternoon either.

What if their cars don't break down = anymore? What if we never have to fix cars again? What are we going to = do? There are hundreds of guys who will suffer by doing nothing, wondering = what is wrong with their cars, why they don't break down. I could see one = who actually swung a large hammer and smash the engine on the top, just to = make it ready to fix.

Then the letters were coming in, one by = one complaining about how mysteriously their cars don't seem to give them = any trouble, that it must be a sign of something big will happen. Like = the quiet before the storm.

Some started to build underground = shelters and buy up food and water for three months. There were complains about the = cars having too high MPG consumption. Some got up to 80mpg. Than = I thought, yes, I did not fill that up for the last three weeks and it = seems to keep on going without refueling. I looked at the trip meter and = there was over 800 on it, and the gauge was showing more than half still. = Maybe I just did not zero it a few times. That's pretty normal. I = was wondering if I should complain to the List too. Complain? Is not that supposed to be a good thing? Well, probably not = if it is abnormal. It has to be fixed. But I will wait one more tankfull.

The guys were all up in arms about how = the leaks and shudders and cut outs stopped happening again. They were = happily worried and concerned because it keeps on running too long without = anything going wrong with it. Even worse, they don't have anyone = complaining of break down and they want to help but there is no one who is willing = to ask for help. It was very frustrating. And it further aggravated = their uneasiness when the administrator asked the List to post strictly = Vanagon related stuff and stop the thread on the complains about the cars = perfect operation.

After that the List slowed down to a = halt. There was no more message again. And I felt, I was out of = work. Suddenly I did not know what to do with all the time I had on my = hands. I was sad though. I missed my friends. I missed all those = guys. The good, the bad, the ugly. How am I going to find them = again? I was walking in a daze for days. I was not needed anymore. = The food did not taste good, I did not feel like playing with my kids, my = wife loved me less, the dog was looking at me strange, I did not waive to my = neighbor hello, I did not go for my breakfast run around the block, I did not = even watch TV.

Then a child called me; dada! can you = come here? I need you to fix my car! - that call made me feel like a man = again. Finally I was back in business, doing what I like to do, small as it may = be, a car is a car, only batteries to change but still, it is a fix. It = made for a great start of the day. After breakfast I went out and looked at = all my Vanagons in the backyard and could not help noticing that I found all = kind of faults on them. Wow! I felt like I found a pot of = gold. I made a list of all the things that had to be done and it was long. = I went to the computer checked the List and there it was. Full of great = messages of all the broken engines, plumbing, electricals you name it. My = life was back to normal. My friends were there again to discuss highly = important matters that affects our department of transportation. =