Exciting News Alert: As the Wrench Turns on PBS

Click & Clack, of Car Talk fame, will be starring in their own new (and theoretically hilarious) animated TV show, called As the Wrench Turns. It will be on PBS, beginning in July. The news doesn't say whether the focus will be zany antics or smarty pants car advice, but judging by the photos and matching captions on boston.com, my money's on the zany antics. Who cares? We are all about a good laugh around here, especially, but not exclusively, when it involves useful information. Stay tuned for my glowing review in mid-July.

I hate to say I told you so, but...

Would it be inappropriate to say "Right again, Patricia" again so soon?
I don't think so!

If you've read the book, you've noticed my incessant nagging about how important it is to make sure everyone in the vehicle is buckled up whenever you hit the road. No excuses! Why? Because it's good for you, that's why, and since I'm always glad for any backup, I'll share a real life testimonial I read about in The Week the other day...

A guy was busted for a safety belt violation and forced to pay a fine and buckle up. He was no doubt feeling pretty crabby about it until a half hour later when he was smeared by somebody who ran a red light. Thanks to his seat belt, he was not seriously injured. Thus crabby was transformed into grateful and happy that the kind officer saved his butt and probably a few other body parts. Are you convinced yet? Good!

Thanks for learning our lesson for us, mister!

Welcome Back, Mother R

And welcome back, readers!

At long last Mother Rider has returned, after a year long sabbatical. I hope you all didn't miss me too much, or suffer too severely from the lack of my smarty pants driving advice. No wait, what am I saying? I hope you missed me a lot. And I missed you too! I will spare you my lame excuses (and the good ones too) but simply extend a hearty welcome and a cheery wave and get right down to business; there is plenty to get down to.

You may have noticed in my absence that the email fairies have been keeping up with words of driving wisdom and some hilarious photos. You can find a few of the photos on our new Riders on the Road website, and I will pass on a touch of the wisdom right here and now. It's called The Law of the Garbage Truck.

One day on the way to the airport in a taxi, a car suddenly jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. The taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. The taxi driver just smiled and gave the guy a cheery wave.

So why the cheery response, when this guy almost smashed us to smithereens and sent us to the hospital? Well, it's "The Law of the Garbage Truck." The taxi driver explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage like frustration, anger, and disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people never let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so....

"Love the people who treat you right. Pray for those who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!"

Hearty thanks and a cheery Rider wave to all of my friends at NEKInfo Associates, from Annalei who shared this story, to Jethro, Sam and Ben who created our terrific new look and website.