"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."

The Movie: A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951 (Tennessee Williams and Oscar Saul, screenwriters, from the play by Williams; Elia Kazan, dir.)
Who says it: Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois, a slightly deranged spinster and aged Southern belle
The context: Raped by her brother-in-law (Marlon Brando), betrayed by her sister (Kim Hunter) and now fully deranged, Blanche thanks the asylum doctor who comes to take her away.
How to use it: When you know you’re being a drama queen and asking far too much of your friends.

The car is fixed. I feel afraid of it, though, as if it were an unreliable dog or a boyfriend who had already lied to me. If I left today, I wouldn't make it to Maine until October 2, and then would immediately have to turn around and start traveling again. I'd wanted to be in Boston for a client's Habitat for Humanity build there on October 2, but I'm obligated to be back here in Los Angeles on October 10.

Therefore, I'm making a big change in my original plan -- which is laughable, since the original plan lay in tatters weeks ago. Rather than get on the highway in this car today, I'll just stay in Los Angeles until October 11, and give the car time to break down again, if it does, on a surface street.

When I leave on October 11, rather than take the route I had planned, I'll go directly across the country to Virginia Beach, to see my folks. God willing, Mom will be home by then, so I can spend a few days with them before going up to Washington, DC, where I need to be on or before October 22. I'll head to Maine from there, probably arriving on the 25th or 26th.

I need to plot the new route and see where it takes me -- it means there are people I won't be able to see after all, and that disappoints me. But the universe is obviously rejecting that first plan, so I need to make a new one.

All my friends and family have been great about this, but everyone's patience has limits. Thanks again, and let's hope we get to the next chapter soon.