July 21, 2004 I am moping today, moving slowly, smiling less. It's a sad day when the rally car breaks. Life's not the same on surface streets. Leon is taking me up to Hesperia to visit Big Tom, a UPS technician by day and Rally Surgeon by night, known to greatly fix and improve rally cars in his spare time. He's going to make Prince all better. I am very glad that he is helping me, but that doesn't seem to lessen the pain of losing Prince Charming for a few weeks. And the pain of knowing that I broke him! Prince, will you ever forgive me? After watching the video of the 2002 Ramada Express Rally and seeing Prince's former master launch him over the edge of a snowy road, I don't feel so bad… but still! I want him to be better. Of course, Leon offers no consolation. This is how rallies are, he tells me. Get used to it. People always break their cars. I know this deep inside after watching WRC coverage for the past 5 years. But you don't want to think it'll happen to you. Yeah, it looks really tough when Richard Burns runs his car off of the road and breaks his suspension, but when I do it, the cool factor lasts half of a second before the "OMG! How much is this going to cost?" feeling sets in. Hesperia is miserable. It's so hot. I take notes, knowing that this is probably what Gorman is going to feel like though deep down, I hope it's not. Leon rolls Prince down the ramp. Between the heat and the pain of being taken away from my baby, I'm completely worn out and cranky. We have to head home. Back to Diary of a Driver.