Many years ago I remember telling the Shmata Queen about the similarities between cars and women. It was one of those obnoxious comparisons in which you suggest that both are expensive hobbies, but at least the car doesn’t talk back.
Some of you are probably waiting for the punch line where I tell you about how she literally punched me. Sorry to disappoint you, but The Shmata Queen was and is so madly in love with me that it was all she could do not to kiss me. Did I tell you that one of the many attributes she finds so very attractive is my enormous and incomparable humility..
Hee hee. I can’t stop laughing. When she reads this I am going to need to be certain to be extra wary, that woman carries an enormous black purse and let me assure you, it hurts to be belted with it.
Anyhoo, the joyous man that you all know as moi, Jack has a wry grin upon his face. You see my car decided to start smoking yesterday and sadly it wasn’t a good cigar. So off we went to see the wonderful wizard of auto repairs where we received a laundry list of items that needed to be attended to.
My dear beloved Honda is 9 years old and has 98,760 miles give or take a few on it. Up to now I haven’t had to do much other than change a few tires and a little brake work. But something told me that our relationship was going to change a bit this time around.
The damn radiator gave up on me. It is cracked. And because it can’t just be one thing to deal with there were a number of others that demand attention. So I reviewed the list and gave approval to hook up a direct line between my bank account and the mechanic.
And now I am sitting here watching the IV, kind of bittersweet to see all those dollars flowing through that clear plastic. I had such hopes and dreams for it all.
On a more serious note, I am very familiar with my mechanic. I have been taking my cars to him for years now and they have always treated me fairly which is why I still see them. That level of trust is very important. I know enough about cars to understand what is important and what isn’t.
That is not to say that you can’t B.S. me, but it is not going to be easy. And what I appreciate about these guys is that they haven’t ever tried to do so. They always give me a list of what is necessary and what is recommended.
Still, it hurts to have to drain my bank account like this. I don’t think that I have ever been able to buy a car on my terms. It always has come at a point in time when I couldn’t stomach pouring more cash into whatever vehicle I was dealing with at that time.
One of these days I’d like to change that. I’ll add that to my list. In the meantime I have to go find my helmet because I have this sneaking suspicion that I am in danger of getting bonked in the head. Hee hee, I can just hear her now. 😉