Was Yesterday National Car Breakdown Day?

Yesterday afternoon, just a few miles before the odometer would click over to 200,000 miles, my old truck died.

This car burst into flames in Richmond, Vermont yesterday.
The guys with the fire extinguishers managed to put
it out and it looks like nobody got hurt.
But yesterday really seemed like National Car
Breakdown Day.  

Without warning, the battery conked out. The truck had been starting fine all day.

Then, the next time I tried to start it, it didn't. All I heard was the whiny whimper of death from the truck engine.

It was not that big a deal as car repairs go. Just a pain in the butt and an unexpected expense.

It was almost as if the truck decided to celebrate its milestone odometer reading in a memorable way.

Or something else was going on.

Maybe it was just me, but it seemed yesterday was National Car Breakdown Day.

After I got a jump start, I limped over to Sears for a new battery. I found the place hopping. They were busy! And on the way there, I saw two disabled cars on the side of the road.

A couple hours later, revving it up with my new battery, I went back to the business at hand. And I saw three more broken down cars on a 20-mile stretch of road.

Finally, on the way back home, I found guys frantically spraying a heavily smoking car with fire extinguishers. Inside the car were a woman and two big dogs. None looked particularly happy, but for some reason they weren't getting out of the burning car, either.

My guess: An electrical fire in the car disabled the locks, trapping the woman and the dogs.

Luckily, our heroes with the fire extinguishers got the fire out, and the woman, and her dogs, survived another day. Which will also probably yield another car disaster.

Was karma bad in Vermont yesterday, causing cars to malfunction? Was the Evil Car Death Spirit having a lousy day?  Inquiring minds want to know.

I'm just glad my truck started this morning.