November 1990

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Dear Tom and Ray:
Would you like to hear the end of a story? The story of the 72-year-old woman planning an extended tour of the western half of the United States in a high mileage, eight-year-old Honda Accord? With her dog for company? Tent camping?

I'm that woman, and I'm back after 7,000 miles, 12 states, and distances stretching from San Francisco to Kansas City, Glacier Park in Montana to Texas, and home. And another birthday logged, too.

I saw my letter, and your response, in a newspaper in anￂﾬother city after I was already on the road. You were right about the water pump. It gave up the second day out, but I didn't know it had happened. All I knew was that the battery light was on and the temperature gauge was up. I was in a small town, and three reￂﾬpair shops there didn't think of the water pump, and neither did I. I drove 45 miles to the closest city, where a nice Japanese mechanic replaced it and tsk tsk-ed about me driving the car any further, which I did, anyway.

As of now, the car's fine, I'm fine, and it was a marvelous trip, the water pump and the biker crowd at Black Hills notwithstanding. Best regards.
Muriel

TOM: Gee, Muriel, you made it! We didn't think we'd ever hear from you again! Sorry about the water pump, but we tried to warn you.

RAY: We still think you should sell your story to Paramount Pictures. Can't you see it? A 72-year-old-woman...alone out west with nothing but her her dog and her Accord. We'd call it "Little Honda on the Prairie!"

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© 2006 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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Auto repairs can be costly! Save money by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet: "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.