> > > > Does anyone *not* have a "we broke down on
> > > > the way to/home from summer/winter
> > > > camp/retreat/vacation" story?

1991, AtlantaFest: Church van's fuseable link needs replaced while at Six Flags Over Georgia. It is replaced while we're in the parking lot.

1991, The Trip to my Grandparents' apartment. A wheel bearing on the right front tire on the Greyhound bus mom and I are in catches fire out in the middle of nowhere while we are on our way to St. Louis. For those who don't know the configuration of a bus, this is the wheel right by the *door*. Nobody is killed, however. We stand waiting for another bus while other vehicles come along and carry the smoke from the bus our way. Bleh. We arrive in St. Louis just in time to see our bus pull away. We wait a long time in a large station. My uncle(mom's b-i-l by marriage to her sister) takes us to grandparents' apt. The next day, mom and grandma go and get the luggage that was taken to Quincy.

1992, trip from grandparents' *house*(different visit): Car has a flat. I put on a donut(temporary tire). Not much to tell.

> > Then again, not everyone has a "got lost in the mountains and was picked up by a rescue helicopter" story, either. :-)

I'm sure I don't.

> > Trav"at least not in the *Norwegian* mountains..."holt.
>
> True. Then there's the "falling in the Arctic ocean and nearly freezing to death" story (well, 2 of those, actually), the "starting a terrorist bomb scare" story, the "being attacked by a goat" story, the "being shot at by NATO" story, the "midsummers day / arctic circle snowball fight" story...

None of those, either.

> And then there are the really scary ones that happen when I get drunk. But I never remember those.

Easy enough for me to avoid. :)

> winter"childhood: long periods of fun punctuated by random moments of terror"mute

Nyperold