Member-only story
What Dead Romans Have Taught Me About Dead Batteries and Dead Bodies
A Year in the Death 2/23/21
My vehicle battery died this morning.
I was in the parking lot at our veterinarian’s office in Boulder and left the radio and heat on during our 10-year-old Golden Retriever Athena’s acupuncture treatment. I did so because I had our nine-year-old Golden (Apollo) with me. He’s much more high strung than Athena and was freaking out because he (mistakenly) expected to be taken inside for an appointment after she was finished.
I thought music would help calm him down. And it did. It also completely drained the old battery in my 2011 Hyundai Tucson.
A few years ago, this occurrence would have triggered a strong emotional response in me. I would have been frustrated, angry, full of self-pity — or, most likely, some combination of all three.
But today?
I simply got out my AAA card, called the emergency roadside assistance number, and spent the next hour I had to wait until the service vehicle arrived calmly alternating between answering email on my phone, reading the book I had brought with me, and making sure the dogs got some water and exercise.
The chill vibe of Boulder wasn’t responsible for this sedate reaction. A bunch of dead Romans were.
