Later this semester, Tracy wants to re-read the famous novel Things Fall Apart by Nigeran writer Chinua Achebe. Besides being the title of the novel, it could be the title of our day!
One of Catherine’s homework assignments was to identify parts of a newspaper. For that, she needed a hardcopy, but we had none at the flat. There was, however, a old Daily Graphic at Tracy's office. So I dispatched to the Institute of African Studies to fetch it. Upon arrival, I turned off the ignition and tried to remove the key. It wasn’t coming out, so I applied a little more torque, as I had done dozens of times before. Today, the key fell apart!
I collected the pieces, fetched the paper, returned to the car, inserted the now-stubby key, and turned. Nothing!
4:30. Need to pick up Mark.
For unknown reasons, there is no second key. So, Tracy and Catherine walked down from the flat to deal with the broken-down car while I travelled to Roman Ridge in a taxi. (Yes, back to taking taxis!)
Tracy enlisted the assistance of the Institute’s drivers who, after investigating, declared an electrical fault. There was some discussion that the busted key is related to the broken-down car.
We’ll try again tomorrow. (After using a taxi to bring the kids to school, of course.)
—Matt
