Sunday, February 23, 2020

Safety First

Mike and a friend came with the needed part for Truck and installed it.  Whew!  Then, while he was under the hood, he started really looking at the engine.  "When was the last time you had this checked?  When was the last time you filled this or that fluid?  When did you...and on and on."  To my chagrin, the answer to everything was, "Probably never."  (Okay, never.)  Because I leave home so seldom and drive so few miles, Truck gets an oil change once a year, well within the recommended limit.  Truck never complains and keeps on truckin'.  He always passes his smog tests.  It would never occur to me to lift the hood because I wouldn't know what I was looking at in the first place.  I guess I go by the adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.'

Mike was horrified.  "Okay.  I'm going to go to the parts store and I'm going to get this, that, and the other thing, and I'm going to fix this!"  Oh goody.  All I could see was a dwindling bank account.  The thing is, I'm smart enough to know that safety comes first and I can't afford to get stuck on the side of the road somewhere in No Man's Land if Truck broke down for lack of care.  It was bad enough to get stuck here at home.  "Okay, Mike.  Go for it," and waved goodbye to some up-front money.

Mike's friend had brought his dog along, the teeniest tiny full-grown dog I've ever seen, perky as all get out and full of herself.  I've got stuffed toys bigger than she.  Michael took one look at her and said, "Phfft.  Not even worth a sniff greeting," and took the opportunity to take off down the drive.  Sigh.

1 comment:

Kathryn Williams said...

That is so funny that Michael charms all the people and really is a "people person" and yet pays no never mind to his own kind. Good for you for getting Truck his check up. I live in a non-rural area and know nothing about cars, so when I moved to San Diego I decided I'd have the SAME mechanic do all my oil changes and all my "well-baby check ups," and anything else that might be needed. Luckily my neighbor, who has lived in the area for 78 years, recommended the shop, whose owner she has known since he was a kid. They aren't as cheap as the Jiffy places, but they never try to sell my a service I don't need, and they always know when the manufacturer says the full check up is needed. You are in a totally different situation because you are quite a distance from any service, but how lucky that Mike knows what he is doing. Glad you should be good-to-go for the future.