26.8.09



So, + in my conversation remorse + pre-justifing way...

i realize this post is cringingly long for me. i tried to telescope it as much as possible. It’s not about a limo, but a Chevy '72 primer painted tuna boat w/ a 450. The type that when you tap the gas petal the engine nearly leapt out from under the hood.

Along w/ a random picture of a rear end, tho not of a car. i really can make anything fit. 

excepts from -Script from a practicing artist and an unfinished life.

91 While i was in Maine the car i baby-sat had worn out underneath + developed infamous wheel berring problems. They’d have to be changed every few months. Eventually i had to find a new axle. i called around the Boothbay area to find a car parts place who miraculously could accommodate what i needed. i borrowed a truck + carried the cryptic directions inland, where if you miss a turn you’re still making headway for a good half hour before noticing you're lost. Turning the last, i pulled through the derailed fence + up near a listing dilapidated barn. i couldn’t believe to be at the correct address.

O
ut sauntered a toothless angel in greasy overalls.


H
e looked up as he rubbed his hands w/ a dirty rag, motioning to me that this was indeed the place. Inside the barn he had a red Chevy sports car jacked up. He had already removed the axle for me.


How much for this side? I asked, Praying that the thirty-five dollars i fingered in my pocket would be enough. It was all i had to my name.


Gotta git fifteen dollars for the right one. That’s fair.

i decided quickly to take advantage of this unbelievable, once in a lifetime offer. i shifted my feet + 
tried to seem casual. Okay, well, i reckon i’ll take both sides, then. 

Less he take me for a fool, i asked him if he had wheel bearings. Amazingly, he had those, too. Packing the axles in the short bed i headed out thanking my lucky stars. i didn’t look back in case he had changed his mind.


got the bearings pressed on + one axle changed. As i worked on the crippled car parked on the street we became the object of slowing autos + retorting snorts. As these things usually happen, cars would chance by at the blackest moments, just before a giant leap of creative engineering.


That would be the end of the story if I hadn’t taken the back seat out of that tanker of a car, piled in all of my belongings plus the dog + headed west toward the other coast.

92 
The springs were shot so the weight lay entirely on the frame. Lucky, i didn’t crash when the rear end blew. i gracefully glided off along the convenient exit ramp, landing in front of a rest stop phone booth. Wasn’t that happy?

A
Good Samaritan pulled up behind my disabled car. i had already jacked up the car, had the wheel off + was pulling off the axle. The end had reached a high temperature + in fact the metal looked like a mutilated screw tip that had broken off at the point. (i still wish i had saved that) The guy's jaw dropped in astonishment. He managed to say he was a mechanic, but alas, too bad it’s the middle of the night + the car needs a major part. i confidently threw open the trunk reached deep, pulled out + held up a clean monkey suit while pointing to the spanking axle inside.


If he looked merely astonished before, he was now flabbergasted.

Well, all we need is a good flashlight and we can operate.
Just another major car surgery on the side of the road.

When we are younger solving problems has less to do w/ having courage, + more to do w/ not knowing fear.


After having kids, what feels like courage swings away, giving to a complex backbone.

19 comments:

  1. You have a great blog!:)

    Have a nice week...what's left of it:)

    Cyrus

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  2. Wow - Now that was an interesting "limo" tale. Very cool.

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  3. surrounded by angels...first the toothless one and then the wrench wielding one!!

    love the line: When we are younger solving problems has less to do with having courage, and more to do with not knowing fear.

    to no fear!!

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  4. What a wonderful post. I think Providence had a hand in that one.

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  5. wow. written beautifully well. your last paragraph got me...living without fear...a hard discipline to living an adventurous life...

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  6. Hi - and thanks for commenting at Gerdiary...! I like your blog, too - it´s interesting + funny (in an interesting way...)

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  7. Nice story and reminds me of all the old clunkers I've had, over the years. A little grease, the odd nut or bolt, duct tape, bailing wire....and a lot of praying...and I end up getting flat tyres...patch and plug kit...enjoyee this one, I did :)

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  8. i maybe have tuned up a car and changed a few flat, tops; i didn't understand a word of this! Good post!

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  9. I've never been stuck at the side of the road with a breakdown. I hope it never happens. You handled it with aplomb.
    The "angel" is putting me in mind of Roland LeBay in Stephen King's "Christine".

    Kat

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  10. Age definitely breeds caution! I am not ready to call it fear yet!

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  11. This is so well written. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. I liked that but what on earth are you doing with a clean monkey suit in the back of your car! It's true, the older we get the more fearful we become, I'm not sure whether it's justified.

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  13. I think you might agree that we as americans have true relationships with our cars. So much more than a mode of transportation. Great trip down memory lane.

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  14. "I couldn't believe to be" - I like that immensely.

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  15. Thanks everyone...
    Subby, yes, we could get pretty creative fixing those pre-computer cars.

    Tom, I thought all guys knew car jargon!

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  16. You never cease to amaze me and easier to smile at some of your adventures in the past tense. You are so strong. I am thankful for some of our fear. Maybe sometimes fear is our brains and bodies telling us "been here, done this, know the outcome" and to run from the large toothy animal. As you have said - "we are all angels were our wings meet", and I know you will always brush many with yours.

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  17. Love your posting and blogs. Thanks for visiting mine. Having been stranded in my driving days, I could relate to your story and found many of the lines memorable.

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