Bother

"Mom, there's a problem with the van."  #2 Son came in, with Young Jacob.

What, is it not starting? i asked.

"No, it won't shift unless you get out and rehook this one plastic piece under the hood to a metal piece," he answered.  "It's a good thing Young Jacob was with me when it happened, he knew just how to rehook it."

"It's not hard, but it is a pain in the neck," Young Jacob added.  "My Tahoe used to do that, and your son can show you in the morning how to rehook it so you can drive it.  Really, all it takes is to super glue it back on."

Super glue? i noted drily.  Yes, i'm going to hold parts of the car together with super glue, and why not?  One part of one bumper is held on with Gorilla Tape.  (See, i told you she was a Jalopy.)

Well, i continued, Son, you can come with me in the morning to see Kevin and Lenny.

The next morning, i used Bigger Girl's vehicle, Cicero, to drop Little Girl at school, then got #2 Son to show me how to hook up the van so it would shift.  He drove Jalopy and i drove Bigger Girl's Cicero, and we went to the shop.

Walking in, i said, It's time for me to bother! as Kevin grinned and Lenny said, "Is it having more trouble starting?"

Nothing like it, i said.  Come out here and i'll let my #2 Son show you how it has to be shifted.

Lenny came out, watched the process, and said, "Oh, you need a new shift cable.  It shouldn't be too much, let me go look."

Back indoors, i got coffee and he found the part.  "The part will run about a hundred, labor about the same, let me call and see if the part is readily available."

As he called, i told Kevin about Young Jacob telling me we could hold it together with super glue.  He laughed and said, "Well, he's just trying to save you some money!  He's one of those guys who can fix it but not really, right?"

No, i noted, he actually can repair things properly, but he can also rig things when he can't afford to fix them properly.  And i can see myself stuck in a parking lot of a store with melting groceries trying to rehook that doggone cable when the super glue fails!

We both laughed, as did one of the mechanics standing nearby.  Then Lenny said, "Yes, the part is in stock, with tax and all, it will be a hair over $200."

Okay, i said.  It beats out having to dig under the hood every time i want to shift the car.

"That's for sure," Kevin noted.

"We'll call when it's done," Lenny added, and i said good-bye and brought #2 Son home with me in Cicero so Bigger Girl could get to school.

"The super glue might have worked, mom," #2 Son said on the way home, "but I'm sure glad I had Young Jacob with me at the gas station last night when it came unhooked, or I would have had to call you to come with a tow truck late at night."

Well, i wouldn't have had it towed last night, i would have just picked you up and left it to be towed until morning.

"Yeah, it's a big station, they would have let us push it to a far off parking place on the side of the building until morning.  But towing is expensive."

Yes, but our insurance reimburses us for towing.  The problem, of course, is if you use that too much, your rates go up, so i'm glad we didn't have to do that.

"Me, too.  Oh, and I filled it with gas last night, too."

You filled it?  Totally?  How did you do that?

"Very carefully."

No, i mean how did you afford it?

As i pulled into our driveway, he answered, "Very carefully!" with a grin as he jumped out of the car and ran toward the side door where he enters the house, near his bedroom.

Sarcastic nut! i laughingly yelled at his rapidly disappearing back as i hopped out of the car.




Today is:

Day of Remembrance/Patriot Day -- US (all flags at half staff)

Discontinued Thoughts Exhibition -- Fairy Calendar

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 1, Unity (sponsored by We, the World)

Emergency Number Day/National 911 Emergency Day -- US

Fiesta Nacional de Cataluna -- Catalonia, Spain (National Day of Catalonia)

Jinnah Day -- Pakistan (Founder's Day)

Libraries Remember Day -- encouraging libraries, which preserve knowledge and heritage, promote tolerance, and represent all that is the antithesis to terrorism, to remain open the entire 24 hours of this day as symbol of freedom, tolerance, and hope

Make Your Bed Day -- make your mom happy!

National Championship Air Races -- Reno, NV, US (through Sunday)

National Day of Service and Remembrance -- US

National Hot Cross Buns Day

Nayrouz -- Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic new year and day of confessors) related observances
     Enkutatash -- Ethiopia
     Keddus Johannes -- Eritrea (a/k/a Geez New Year)

No News is Good News Day

Pohnpei Liberation Day -- Micronesia

Queen Paola's Birthday -- Belgium (an official flag day)

Sacrifice to Zeus Epoptes -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

St. Sperandea's`Day (Patron of Cingoli, Italy)

St. Vincent of Leon' Day (Patron of Cercemaggiore, Italy)

Teacher's Day -- Argentina


Anniversaries Today:

Diocletian New Year

Remembrance of 9/11/2001


Birthdays Today:

Harry Connick, Jr. 1967
Kristy McNichol, 1962
Lola Falana, 1943
Tom Dreesen, 1942
Brian DePalma, 1940
Paul "Bear" Bryant, 1913
D.H. Lawrence, 1885
O. Henry, 1862


Today in History:

Battle of Teutoburg Forest ends, 9
Michimalonko leads indigenous warriors to attack and destroy Santiago, Chile, 1541
Alexander Hamilton is appointed first US Secretary of the Treasury, 1789
The Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house used to store them, 1792
Stephen Foster's well-known song, Oh! Susanna, is first performed at a saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1847
Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale", gives her first US concert, 1850
The Olympia Columbian becomes the first newspaper published north of the Columbia River, 1852
The postal mail chute is patenteted by James Cutler, 1883
Mahatma Gandhi coins the term "Satyagraha" to characterize the Non-Violence movement in South Africa, 1906
The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11, 1916
Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm ever to hit the state, 1961
U.S. President Jimmy Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel meet at Camp David and agree on the Camp David Accords, 1978
Hungary announces that East German refugees there are free to leave for West Germany, 1989
Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates Hawaii, especially the islands of Kauai and Oahu, 1992
September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, 2001
The State of Israel claims completion for its unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip, 2005
Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of all bombs, 2007