The first sign that a school break has ended and the majestic pursuit of knowledge is set to resume is that my car needs repairs. If my car ever broke down in the middle of July, the University’s Board of Trustees would have to convene an emergency semester.

So last week, right on schedule, I had a problem with my brakes. Car experts consider brakes very important because they make cars slow down and stop, though if you want to be an average campus motorist, they are not essential. What happened was, my brakes began making a high-pitched squeaking noise whenever I started my car, such that they could have replaced Fran Drescher in any of her acting roles and nobody would have noticed the difference. Read the rest of this entry »