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Around the Key Largo portion of my escape from Tropical Storm Fay, the belt squeal from the engine bay of our rented Dodge Caravan reached epic proportions. The van limped and shuddered into Homestead AFB for the night. The next day, we discovered that a rear tire was low, most likely due to a pothole impact. The spare was deflated as well. Thrifty roadside assistance routed us into rain-soaked Miami International, to exchange cars. As I unloaded the van (which held my luggage and about 300lbs of stuff to be delivered to Warner-Robbins AFB), I asked the porter queuing the cars if I could move it over to the far left to expedite unloading. “What?!? You want me to make a special concession for you?” I guess not. I tracked down several carts to haul everything. I was berated again for not moving the car further down to make more space (despite the ample opening in the six spaces beside me). As Monica emerged from the rental counter with keys in hand, the porter took off with the car, and the rest of our luggage, to the nether regions of the lot. Much arguing later on who takes priority– the customer exchanging a broken van, or the porter who wants his lane clear– we were off in a beige Caravan. The dirt-covered interior had boogers smeared on the dashboard, and it smelled bad. Like the previous Caravan, it also had been in a noticeable front-end accident. The things you learn from adversity…

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