Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Monday, December 3, 2012

Good Friends and Car Troubles

Okay. I'm sure it was one of these . . .

My Husby and I drive vintage cars.
'Vintage' is a classy name for 'old'.
Just FYI.
Moving on . . .
Wonderful vintage cars.
They are affordable.
Comfortable.
I can sympathize with their creaking joints and less-than-stellar performance.
And they have real engines.
Or at least engines where the components are recognizable.
But they do have their drawbacks.
They really are old.
And their parts are equally old.
At times, like me, they get . . . balky.
Allow me to illustrate . . .
We were driving a Buick.
Station wagon.
It had developed some internal problems.
Gall bladder, I think.
Or, in car talk, an stubborn solenoid.
While we waited for the funds to actually fix said solenoid, we were reduced to a two-person starting method.
One to crawl under the car and whack the balky part with a hammer and the other to actually turn the key.
It worked.
Sort of.
We were visiting with friends.
It was a warm summer evening.
The sky had been threatening rain all day.
Sometime during our visit, the threat became reality.
The sky opened up and dumped everything it had on us.
At the exact time we decided we should be heading home.
Sigh.
I took up my position in the driver's seat, key inserted and ready to turn.
My Husby quickly slipped underneath the car, hammer in hand.
*Tink*. *Tink*.
“Okay! Try it!”
I turned the key and the engine roared to live.
My Husby crawled out – remember, it was pouring rain at this time – and started towards the driver's door.
He paused.
Someone was laughing.
Loudly.
We both looked toward our friends' front door.
The two of them were silhouetted in the light from their front room.
They had watched the whole procedure.
We laughed with them.
Then my Husby shrugged and jumped into the car and we drove off.
We learned an important lesson from this.
Always choose your friends with care.
They should be fun.
Generous.
Kind.
Supportive.
Loyal.
And be able to laugh you through your car troubles.

4 comments:

  1. My sister had a standard volkswagen that generally only jump started. My girls pushed her out of the garage. The car went backwards down the hill into the street OK. Then they pushed her up the street until she started and took off for work. Before they went to school. They were about nine and eleven, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, I guess the good thing is, if we ever do have an apocalyptic solar flare, like the ones that make for good shows on the history channel, your car will be unharmed. No electronics to fry. You just might have the last laugh :).

    ReplyDelete
  3. You painted a wonderful picture and it gave me a good laugh - as most of us have had vintage(old)cars. I can't handle the grief and anxiety any more, so I drive a 7 year old baby (which is today's car years is only 5). They do build them to last longer now and I intend to take full advantage of that. I figure we will both go down together.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Not as old as a '47 Ford pickup but just as cantankerous.

    ReplyDelete

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