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OK, today, my seatbelt breaks. The little doohickey, the latch thing that the belt clicks into, won’t click. Fine time to break with an impending ice storm. So, I go to the Carstar bodyshop place that fixed my car so nicely when somebody rear-ended it last year when it was parked unattended on a city street.

The nice man at Carstar ordered the part – but it’s arrival is dependent on the weather, of course. They’ll install it, too, since the seat will probably have to be removed or something.

In the meantime, the Carstar guy suggested that I plug the seatbelt into the passenger-side latch. And that works! Not the best arrangement, but at least it offer some protection for my fragile bones and organs if I have a collision on these icy streets.

Now I always wore a seatbelt on the highways, but never in town – until 1990, when I had a minor accident and suddenly realized how easily I could’ve been thrown through the windshield. So, I like my seatbelt.

I ran about 20 errands today, a bit of Christmas shopping, mailed some packages, renewed my car tags, picked up some ice-melt for the sidewalk, and bought some food that doesn’t need cooking in case the electricity goes out. Dave’s eyes lit up when I told him I bought him instant coffee. We have Sterno to heat it up with. I don’t think Dave would do well without coffee. I bought just a small jar, 30 servings. That ought to last him … a day.