It’s never going to be a good day if it involves the phrase, “Come pick me up…the car won’t start.”

It’s  a worse day if it’s your wife calling.  And she’s out with your mother who is visiting for the week.  And your two year old is out with them.  And they’ve got the car with the LATCH system.

It’s just not what you’d call a pleasant situation.

But that’s the situation I found myself in today.  One minute our car was working.  The next, it’d turn over, but would putter out after a moment or two.

The news got worse once the car made it to the shop.  I kept thinking to myself while waiting for the mechanic to call me, “Let’s keep it under $300.  Anything less than $300.”

Instead I got: “It’s the fuel pump.  It’s gotta go.”  For those of you unfamiliar with the replacement of the fuel pump, that operation pushes your cost well north of $300.

On the other hand I discovered that the Japanese had placed the LATCH system in my 2001 Honda Civic.   I hadn’t actually bothered to look prior to this little event as a) the car is a coupe and wouldn’t be the one transporting my child(ren) to and from events and b) the LATCH system was required in 2003 model year cars and I just assumed that manufacturers wouldn’t be putting that kind of feature in on their own.

It’s a small compensation, but at least it’s something.