Just before I left for the Poconos for Thanksgiving, I taped my call on Car Talk, which destroyed all of my notions about the show while being as fun and intimidating as you might think. Nothing happens live, of course, though listening to the show makes you think it does.

I called almost two weeks ago with my problem, and on Monday, I heard back in an email that they were interested in my call. I talked with their wonderful producer and told her my problem, which she deemed appropriate for the show, and we made arrangements for me to be available the next day at a specific time. She called me back mid-day yesterday, and told me I’d be the first caller on and when they say “Hello, you’re on Car Talk,” they’re referring to me, and it’d be a good idea to state my name and where I’m calling from.

They talked about my neighborhood for awhile, I made an embarrassing effort to include useless information in my spiel so they would take in interest in me – it’s sad, what happens when you realize you’re going to be on the radio – and they gave me their verdict on my problem. The conversation then proceeded to the health of my relationship with Aimee, which was hilarious, and made me pretty much forget what they said about my transmission.

And then it was over, and after they hung up, I was still on the line, and I could hear them mutter something about the fact that I’d probably done something to cause my fifth gear to completely fail, that it wouldn’t have happened spontaneously, and then -click-, it was over. I got an email from another producer letting me know that my segment might never air, but if it did, it’d be on in a week and a half. So there it is.