You know, I find myself walking a lot more
than I use to these days. I mention this because we have three cars at home and
only three drivers, so you’d think I’d be able to drive around more than I
walk.
Now before you get any ideas, I am not a
car collector and having three cars isn’t as extravagant as you might think.
None of our cars are of this century, for one. The closest we have is a 1999
Toyota. The other two are from 1993 and 1991, respectively. We managed with two
cars for a long time, until the twins got their licences.
It’s tough getting to work when there isn’t
any gas in the vehicle, or the vehicle just isn't there. Surprising how that
happens after a teenager just “pops out for a minute”. Turns out the minute was
a quick drive down to Lethbridge and back through British Columbia…
Very soon after that, the twins scrabbled
together enough money to get their very own vehicle. No money for fuel, but
that’s another story.
Back to the walking bit. Just the other day
it was time to take one of the cars into the shop for a transmission service.
Nothing serious, but it would take most of the morning.
My son need the van to
pick up a bunch of gear that wouldn’t fit into his car, so my darling wife would
take his car into the city to meet with her clients. The van was booked to go
in the next day for an oil change. Kind of like a square dance, but with metal
partners.
My wife was away quite early (at least for
me) and my son had just left with the van. All of a sudden my cell phone went
off and I scrambled out of bed, I mean, scrambled from my desk to answer it.
Five minutes down the road and it turns out my son’s car (driven by my wife)
had no headlights. She had the bright beams but no low beams. Tough to navigate
the highway without being able to see the lines on the road, or so I’m told.
I made a quick call to Son #1 (now driving
the van) and asked if he had any troubles. Turns out he was sure they were
working the day before, or so he thought. My wife then said I had to drive her
to work, so I could get the car to the original appointment.
Since I hadn’t quite got around to dressing
for public viewing, I had her take the car, originally booked to go to the shop
and I would work on the lightless wonder.
I did a bit of troubleshooting and couldn’t
find the fault, so I drove it over to the shop and spoke to the mechanic.
“Okay, Dave,” he said, “We have the car in
for a transmission service, right?”
“Nope,” I replied, “We have the other
Toyota in because the headlights don’t work. I like that fixed first and we can
bring the other Toyota in tomorrow, instead of the van for the oil change.”
“Sorry, this is the 1999 Toyota now,
right?”
“Nope, this is the 1991. The 1999 will be
here tomorrow morning and the 1993 van will still need an oil change.”
“Wait, just a second. When did we book the
1993 van in…” And on it went for another ten minutes – a “Who’s on First,
What’s on second routine” only with vehicle instead of people. I should have
recorded it; we would have had a hit!
In any case, I dropped the car off and
walked the three kilometers home and did some work, then I walked back to pick
it up. Then I dropped the van off for the oil change and walked home. Then I
walked back when it was finished and now the car is in for the original
transmission service and I’m sure I’ll be walking back to get it soon. Maybe I can get my shoes resoled and knees
lubricated while I'm there.
Remind me again why I have three cars…
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