"I'll be back."

The Movie: The Terminator, 1984 (James Cameron & Gale Anne Hurd, screenwriters; James Cameron, dir.)
Who says it: Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator
The context: The Terminator’s hunt for Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) takes him to a police station, where they tell him they don’t know where she is. He leaves, but comes back driving a truck through the station’s front window.
How to use it: When you’re not finished with something… not by a long shot.

I made it as far east as the I-10/110 junction before the car died. Many things must be scarier than breaking down on a California freeway, but I don’t care to experience any of them. Thank God for the tow truck driver who carried Dizzy from my car to the cab of his truck – I adopted Dizzy from people who had rescued him from the side of a highway, so who knows what terrors were going through his head.

The problem seems to be the alternator, which as things go is relatively inexpensive and easy to fix. I’m hoping to be back on the road late today. In the meantime, my cousins Kathleen and Mark saved the day for me – they live less than a mile from Lou Ehlers, so they picked up Dizzy and me and gave us a place to stay for the night. It was the best possible outcome for Dizzy, who loves their dog Dudley, their two-year-old son Owen, and their cat Quinn most of all. Tragically, Quinn does not reciprocate Dizzy’s feelings.