Unsolved Mysteries

The past few days have been filled with unsolved mysteries. No, not the mystery of how the Chicago Cubs blew their golden opportunity to win the National League pennant, something they haven't done since Harry Truman was in the White House (in his first year, even!). I'm talking about some strange occurrences that have bedeviled me recently. Particulars:

My car mechanic apparently quit the business. He made a deal as for back as July to sell his property for a new apartment building to be built there, as the section of town where he was located is increasingly being developed for apartments. Unfortunately, he never told me or my mother, and I got my oil changed there in August. Just last week, his old repair shop was bulldozed. His telephone was disconnected. Did he move, or did he retire? I don't have a clue.

Tonight my uncle called my mother and left a message. We need to go through a switchboard to dial his phone. When we called back, the switchboard was busy. We tried two more times; it was still busy. This usually doesn't happen. What went wrong? You got me.

Also, the state quarters for Maine and Missouri should have been issued by now, yet I can't find them anywhere. Even my bank doesn't have them. What gives?

One mystery that affected me and everyone else who likes "The West Wing" has been solved. Last night, a new "West Wing" episode was to air, but at the last minute, NBC pulled it in favor of a "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" rerun. No one on the Internet could figure out why, and no one could get an answer from NBC. Today, TV Guide revealed that NBC didn't want to air a new "West Wing" episode against the baseball pennant games "With such huge baseball competition [on Fox], it didn't make sense for us to air original programming," an NBC spokesman told TV Guide's online service. "Strong repeat programming was the way to go." The episode planned for last night will air at a later date.

Now if someone could help me find out what happened to my mechanic! Or my uncle! :-(

(P.S. Pope John Paul II celebrates the silver anniversary of his papacy today, for those who are interested.)