and now, in stereo

A couple weeks ago, my car stereo got a CD stuck in it. I couldn't remember what CD I'd left in there, though I sometimes do that, and I couldn't find its case, but the player would occasionally grind with a message that it was trying unsuccessfully to read the CD, or trying unsuccessfully to eject it.

This was just before I left for my little concert trip. I stopped at the Honda dealer in Petaluma and asked them about it. They said all they could do would be to remove the player and send it to the Honda factory. They did tell me about a car stereo store in Santa Rosa that they said could do the job, but I didn't have time to go there.

Later, I called the store in Santa Rosa. They said sure, they could remove the disk and test the player. I called my home Honda dealer. They could not recommend a car stereo store. I began to think of going back to Santa Rosa. But I tried asking a car stereo store down here, and they also said they could do it.

Today I went in. They took the car in back, I waited for a while, and the guy came back and, with a slightly shocked look, said there was no disc in the player. Clearly the machine had gone wonky on its own account; just as clearly, it would have to be replaced.

Now I have a compact little Pioneer brand player/radio (they first offered me a JVC, and I said no, I'd once had a VCR from JVC and it had been a terrible machine, and he said "VCR? wow" - clearly, those were before his time). It's totally unlike the old Honda factory model in design and layout, though not, I hope, in function. And it has plugs for mini-patch cords and USB, which the old one didn't.

Without having any idea what the buttons did, I managed to force it onto the classical radio station, but I didn't try playing any CDs on the ride home, and I'm not going to try it now, it's dark out. Tomorrow I should RTFM.