After getting some body work & minor repairs done ($550—way better than the $1000+ the first shop told us it would cost! Thank you, Magri's!!), we finally got the old truck to pass the stringent Massachusetts safety inspection.
Whew! Those of you who have been following this unfolding drama know that we've been wrestling to get the truck registered for the past month, finally renting a van to drive while we got the truck satisfactorily fixed up so we wouldn't get slapped with a mighty fine for driving without an inspection. Given severely limited cash flow and 10 years of living in Arizona where you just have to pass an emissions test and can otherwise drive whatever junk-pile bucket-o'-bolts you want, we found ourselves feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, and trapped in the mire of Massachusetts regulations. But that is all done now—Laudate Dominum! And the lovely fellow at the inspection station wouldn't take our money from us—said, "It's on the house." He'd chatted with James the whole time he was doing the inspection about the church here in Pittsfield, the one we'd left in Tucson, etc. It was such a touch of grace when he refused the $29, especially after all the stress we've suffered over finances. (Thank you, Art Johnson!!!)
We're thinking of having a "debutant" party to celebrate our entry into Massachusetts automotive society. As soon as we have the disposable income to pay the outrageous fee to transfer our driver's licenses over from Arizona...
Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum.
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