New battery - I suspect the other two times this happened it probably should have been replaced right then - at least the last time.  Suddenly everything is working better now.  Nice guy who was looking at the books in the garage - told me he read thirty books a year, which I told him was a great thing.  Later I think he gave me enough of a hint to know he was probably in jail at some point and read and exercised, as he put it.  But I'm for anyone turning their life around.  I gave him a copy of Thrill Ride and he asked me to sign it for him, which I happily did.  So, maybe the new battery will give some needed juice to this lifeless day.