Our blue Corolla wouldn't start this morning. Tracy discovered this truth shortly after breakfast. I went to investigate. "Who drove it last?" Tracy did. She went to a movie with Mark and Kamva last night. "Did you leave the lights on?" Sure enough, the light switch was in the "on" position. So, the battery was probably dead.
Next step was to jump it. I located some jumper cables in the Kombi and connected them between the two cars in the garage. (See photo below.) After trying this a couple times, still no joy. The Corolla would not start.
So, we called Wilhelm's Auto. Wilhelm came to our house, tried the same thing I did (jump the Corolla with the Kombi), and had the same results (that is, nothing). Next, we tried to roll-start the car on our street. But, still no luck. There was too little energy in the battery to operate the spark plugs.
Wilhelm had come to our house with an older Toyota Land Cruiser, and, in a last-ditch effort before towing, used the Land Cruiser to jump the Corolla. It worked! Apparently, the Land Cruiser's alternator is stronger than the Kombi's alternator. Tracy then took the car on a drive to recharge the battery. Everything seems fine, and we hope it stays that way.
Kamva slept over last night. He and Mark had a fun time playing. There's a photo of them below.
This evening, we went for dinner to the V&A Waterfront with Sarah, the daughter of a Calvin colleague. She's studying at the University of Cape Town this semester. Sarah wants to stay an extra semester in Cape Town, because the time she planned just doesn't seem to be enough. I know the feeling.
And, finally, it seems like winter has returned, temporarily. We've had lots of wind yesterday and much rain this evening.
--Matt
