I pumped the brake rapidly with all I had and it suddenly caught a bit, slowing just enough to keep me out of the deep ditch on the other side of the road. But I was stuck in the mud nonetheless, very neatly blocking the road.

As the Sunday morning traffic backed up on both directions, I grabbed the phone, dialed 911, then jumped out to direct traffic up around the truck, over a corner of our new lawn and the bottom of our driveway. Many glared, some smiled and looked sympathetic, a couple offered help.

The police got there very quickly and blocked off the road in both directions, called a tow, and reassured me that all would be well, which it eventually was.

The Sunday truck-rental employee was very sympathetic and offered me essentially free rental, which I accepted. Obviously, given that I was warned about the emergency brake, I never should have accepted the truck in the first place.

I got a call later in the afternoon from the manager, who asked if I was going to pay for the tow - he said he couldn't find anything wrong with the brake. I almost blew my milk out my nose. I politely said no.

The district manager called me today to discuss the situation - I am on hold right now. Stay tuned...

UPDATE
Dawn Olsen has more on the topic here, including some choice comments from other satisfied customers.