Short story.  Sunday.  Parked Stella ('93 Eurovan) in an outdoor lot at 
the edge of little Italy near the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.  Enjoyed a 
funky evening of Average White Band/Ohio Players/War at Pier Six.  Woke 
Stella up a little after 11:00 to head home.  Backed up, no power 
steering, alternator light blaring.  :-0  

Checked the manual, looked under the hood.  Couldn't see a damaged belt 
(it was late, it was dark, I was bleary), nothing on the ground since 
there's that pan under the engine anyway.  Welp, headed home.  Steered 
a little hard but no problem really.  Into the shop next day.  I watch 
from the big door as the mechanic lowers the pan and looks around.  
Calls his buddy over, a couple more.  Small crowd looking and staring at 
the dangling pan.  Reaches down with the vicegrips and comes up with a   
....     rat.  Yep.  The critter crawled up in there and got terminally 
creased by the belt and the compressor pulley but knocked the belt off 
in the process.  That dirty rat cost me $116 and an afternoon.  But, 
hey, Stella caught that rat.  Good girl.

--Drew

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 Drew B. Farenwald    Chief, Survivability Modeling & Simulation Branch
  dbf@jade.arl.mil            V- (410)671-2922 (DSN584-2922)
 ARL, Edgewood, MD            F- (410)671-2375 (DSN584-2375)
 ______________________________________________________________________