Mardi Gras. Every year Cocoa Village has a big weekend with a fair--the usual; rides, food, games, music...--and a parade. Yaw and I went tonight and roamed the booths and finally decided to ride two rides.

Each of us had picked one ride that we really wanted to try. I picked the ferris wheel, something I've always loved. Yaw picked the Wipe Out, one of those ones that goes in circles really fast and goes higher and lower. Yaw enjoyed the Wipe Out but was stunned by the forces it put us through.

The ferris wheel, while less exciting than the Wipe Out, was a much greater pleasure to me. Especially when we were at the top. It was located closest to the river where it overlooked about 20 sailboats resting along the pier, their masts bobbing in the light wind. Looking out over the village itself, I was treated to a quaint city scene with lights in the trees that line the main drags, and crowds of happy people walking, eating, riding, playing. Laughter and music are all around us.

The wind will build tonight, and it will stay in the 60's tomorrow; there are tornado watches all over Brevard County. Earlier today, my cell phone rang when I was at work. My sister, who never calls me in the daytime, saw our weather on TV and wanted to make sure I wasn't in the middle of it. I assured her I was looking out a window with sun shining through it. No guarantee it would stay that way. I was supposed to call her when I got out of work, but I was distracted by a malfunctioning clutch. I will have to call tomorrow and apologize.

I am not looking forward to whatever words the dealership has for me. I'm sure something has to be replaced, and I'm equally sure that if it's the whole clutch, I will once again be donning my battle armor.