I like to say that life happens, just about every day. Today we had three crises going at once, and I was reminded why I am living in the right place for me, I love my town – Cambridge, N.Y. –  more in small ways than in big ones, I think, but I am grateful to be here, especially on a day like today. As a perpetual loner and outsider, I understand I am a refugee, I will never be a native, I have no great desire to be. All the more remarkable how much I feel I belong.

Our trip to New York was in some danger in my mind today, but not any longer. Life happens in all kinds of ways.

First, my car window blew out during last week’s storm, it wouldn’t open or close.

Then, today, a warning light came on about one of the tires – we are driving to New York tomorrow.

Then, this afternoon, we became alarmed about Red and were wondering if we could leave as planned for our trip.

When the window went out last week it was storming, we couldn’t make it up the road to a dealer or our usual mechanic, I remembered there was a small business called “Mr. Auto Glass” just down the road, in sight of our house.  I drove there and the nicest man came out and waved me into his small and spotless garage.

Eduardo, who is from the Dominican Republic, brought the car into his garage, he said he needed a part from Boston, it was delayed because of all the storms and ice. He taped up the window so I could drive it, offered to drive me home and back if necessary,  sent his father-in-law off to Vermont to pick up the part, spent this morning fixing it. I loved his story, he met his wife in the Dominican some years ago, they got married, had a child and moved upstate to her home. We talked baseball, the bill for the window repairs and parts was a little over $300, about half of what it would have cost at a dealer’s. Eduardo and Leah are coming to visit the farm when it warms up.

Then, there was the tire. When I picked up the car from Eduardo,  Maria and I drove it up to Matthews Automotive where Adam Matthews, the owner, put on his ski hat and gloves, took a look and found the spare tire was sending off the warning signal, he fixed it, wouldn’t charge us. I took this photo of Maria in the waiting room, it looked Norman Rockwell’ish to me, Tom, the office assistant,  was at his desk.

On the way back, we picked up Red at the groomer’s and she told us about his water gulping and we became further alarmed and I called the vet, they said bring him right in, right now, and we did, and Dr. Flaherty came right out to see Red instantly, the vet techs ran around with him outside in the cold until he peed and they got a sample, and they drew blood and told me to come back in a half hour – they are just down the road – and they gave me the test results and send more urine off for further testing, they said they would bill me later.

The Cambridge Valley Vet feels like family to me, there is nothing but trust and efficiency there.

We did all of these things in a couple of hours, we felt comfortable with everyone we saw, everything we spent was reasonable and beyond fair. I do not live in paradise, there is no perfect life, no place is without it’s problems and issues, I love where I live you get as good as you give here, I feel I am always dealing with neighbors, I am surrounded in a cocoon of community. People love to help people here, it happens again and again. They are business transactions, yet they are not, they are more.  I told Maria I couldn’t help but think of what this afternoon would have been like in  Washington or New Jersey or New York or Philadelphia, places I have lived.