this text sat for over a year, but now i know how to set it up, thanks to noel.today i drove the saab up another gravel road and dislodged the muffler from the manifold. i could have cried, but suppressed the urge. i was miles up the gravel. No other traffic. i really didn't like this game. though three people stopped and asked if they could help. i ended up tying a rope around the clamp and threading it through the back of the engine around some supports. i turned around. i made it several miles before i had to tighten the rope, due to scraping on road rocks, and near paralyzing fear. when i got back to marblemount i called dennis. and he said that's what he would have done and that aside from the noise the car would be fine. oh, how i hate the engine's growl.
after complaining elegantly at my lost hike on the most beautiful day of october up the hidden lakes trail. i again went under the car and after unwrapping the rope and fetching some copper wire. i pushed with my shoe to align the pipe before i wrapped the wire, and the pipe fit back together, snug enough to make me feel like i could drive three hours home. amazingly, the engine growl calmed, tamed engine.
fixed by playfulness, i mused i took a walk on the river and found a fire pit where i found fishing notions and made a set of false flies. i got chilled. but the happiness soothed all despair.
