They Might Be Mechanics

MORNING OF APRIL 3, 2012

I was driving back to my apartment one evening around sunset when my car broke down. I was only two or three miles away, and decided I could walk back to my apartment, which I proceeded to do. I'd already covered a good amount of ground when I realized that going back to my apartment would accomplish nothing! I had no extra car there, no other person to help me. Why didn't I just stay with my car and call someone on my cell? So I walked back to the car.

I had parked the broken-down car on a curb of street that was full of small businesses. It's an entirely fictional street that doesn't really exist near my apartment. By now it was completely dark out, and I was sitting on the sidewalk waiting, I guess, for someone to come get me.

Suddenly, my favorite band, They Might Be Giants, happened to pass by in a van. They stopped and asked me what was wrong. When I explained my predicament to them, they got out and helped. John Linnell seemed especially good with cars, and was working under the hood with one of the other band members. Meanwhile, John Flansburgh sat on the sidewalk with me and made small talk.

He took out his lap top and showed me a secret password you could type in to their website to get a steep discount on their "Instant Fan Club" package. There was some sort of black and white animated gif associated with the password, but I don't really remember much beyond this.