This is not fiction… a conversation like this actually occurred a few weeks ago. My brother, who does serve in the armed forces had returned from Iraq and was at Disneyworld with his family. The car he was driving (which they had already had some trouble with) had some more trouble. My brother called my parents and they called me – the “car guy” in the family. The conversation was a lot longer than a mere 4 panels could cover, but the basics are here. His car died, my parents were overly concerned. I thought it was amusing, not because his car had died, but because he was at Disneyworld, a place known for customer service & his car was still under warranty and therefore still had free roadside assistance. In defense of my brother, I’m guessing he called just to let them know what had happened and my parents immediately felt the need to “fix it.” Yes, my father did email a BMW dealership in Orlando about getting him a BMW X something with bumper-to-bumper coverage for 100,000 miles along with a few other people to help out.

Long story short, my brother made it back safely with his family in his old car that he turned around and got rid of to get (drumroll please) a MINI, a Clubman to be precise. Then he was shipped back to the Middle East for a now undetermined period of time.

As someone once said, “If you have to explain a joke, it isn’t funny.” So I apologize to those who don’t find it amusing. I do- so there.