So far $690.00 has been donated to help get my transmission fixed. A big thanks to everyone who gave! To be honest, I just wasn’t sure anyone would; guess you all showed me! Right now the van is just sitting in a gravel parking lot where it won’t be bothered by anybody. The deadline I have is April 10th so if I’m unable to get the transmission fixed, I’ll have to get rid of the van since my friend’s landlord’s won’t let the van stay parked where it is indefinitely.
In the meantime, I will continue to write as much as I can while looking for ways to make a living. I’m not having much luck getting job interviews or even a “thank you for applying” response to the ads I’ve applied to. Doesn’t get me down though. For all the talk you hear about the economy getting better and supposedly more jobs being made, there sure are a lot of unemployed people here in Washington State.
When you don’t have a vehicle to get around in, you realize just how much you relied on it. I had to cancel two doctor’s appointments and missed my niece’s birthday party because I couldn’t get a ride there. Once the van is fixed or I get another vehicle, I’ll be mobile again!

I’m not a car expert, but I have heard that it’s best to take “cars” out for at least a short spin every now and then rather than leaving them parked continuously.
I’m not taking chances with a bad transmission…
Maybe start the van up, let the engine warm, and maybe drive it back and forth on the parking lot once a week? [Or maybe that’s just an urban legend]
I had a vehicle out of commission. Sat for too many weeks. The mice had a field day. Just saying, the suggestion to run the engine might not be a bad one.
It’s not the running of the engine that’s the problem, it’s driving it with a bad transmission…can’t get mice out in his parking lot, it’s loaded with stray cats….:) Besides, where I’m at I have to run it every other day to keep the battery charged because it gets awfully cold over here….
Yes. I know. Bad transmission. Ah. Cat Patrol. That’s good. You’re already on it-the running of the engine.