It’s a long slow night called back toward winter cold, though the longer trends run in a summer direction.

You may remember that the cargo trailer has been at Kevin’s shop almost since the day I brought it back to SandRock.

It’s been ‘done’ there for going on two weeks, but around that time, instead of picking it up, I dropped the truck off next to it, because she needed a new alternator, a couple of bulbs, and to be properly connected to the trailer’s electrical systems.

Yesterday the nice office manager lady called. It’s done! But oh … did you want a trailer brake Controller installed in the cab of the truck?

I said, well, I don’t understand why I’d need one … the trailer brakes are ready to go … right?

“Okay!,” she chirped, “see you in a bit then”.

I went up and Kevin was busy with a new customer. Young-Lady came out first. She said, here’s your paperwork–you owe us $676 and we’re all good.

I said: No.

The $676 was for rigging the shore power system for the trailer. So I owe you more than that. An alternator alone is going to be upwards of a couple hundred.

Um … oh …

And also, I said. What’s this question about a brake controller? Theoretically, why would I want one?

She had no more idea than I did, and decided that we should ask Grumpy Old Jeff. Grumpy Old Jeff said, you’d want one because you already gave us $1200 for completely new trailer brakes, and if you want those brakes to actually do anything, like, stop the trailer, you’re gonna need a controller for that to happen.

I think about there I did that nose-pinching thing.

In the end I was there for about half an hour, and it was almost a completely wasted trip. I say almost because I did get to talk to the shop guy who actually worked on the truck, and without any prompting at all, he gave me a very complete idea about what happened with every little single thing I had asked about when I dropped it off, right down to a throwaway question about what that little pigtail connector under the rear driver’s side seat did.

(He smiled and just said, The answer to your question is, it doesn’t do anything.
[But just now in telling the story, I had a thought. I’ll damn sure betcha that it WILL be the perfect place to connect up, say, a brake controller … ?] Sometimes all you can do is laugh.)

Long story short, I’m back on hold for a week or two, and until then I have been reassured completely that I live in the molasses utopia we know as the modern USA.