How do I find an unauthorized repair person?

Thanks Mayer! I'm in Cape Cod MA. I will send a photo in a few days. The case is cracked in that area, yes, although I still think a repair is possible. The steps that intimidated me are the ones saying "use extreme caution here; this part is easily bent or broken." I'm going to seek a good general electronics repair person in my area who's willing to try this repair using the guide I found on this site. If it's not easy finding such a person, I might try it myself with you holding my hand! Thanks so much for the offer. I'll send a picture early next week. - Michael

PS do you know how Apple justifies not authorizing anyone to do such relatively simple repairs as this?

Michael, I probably have the part in stock. A medium USPS box and some bubble wrap will do the job for shipping. At least I have an eight year record on this site. Apple is now a greedy corporation. Integrity left with Steve Jobs. Anything over 6 years old is considered a "legacy Machine" and Apple will not fix it or sell you parts. They want you to go buy a new machine (that's unrepairable). Besides, they don't have to train technicians anymore.