Monday, 11/13

 My dad will be so proud.

I come from a family of people who are mechanically inclined and know how to fix things.  My parents owned several auto repair facilities, one of which is still run by my nephew.  My brother's very adept with tools, and my sister, when I call & ask her to jump start a car with a dead battery, will actually head to You Tube and figure out that you need to stick one of the cables to a post on Loraine's car, because the battery is buried in the engine.

Me?  Well, let's just say that it's a good thing I know how to use a phone, because whenever something doesn't work, it's a family member (usually my dad, who's in Florida right now) who gets the call.

That's why I surprised myself yesterday.  Loraine's driver's side car door wasn't closing as tightly as she felt it should.  In fact, when we left the grocery store Saturday a little red light came on on her dashboard.  She slammed the door shut and it went away.

I put gas in the car yesterday, and when I got home I looked at the door, just to see if I could figure out what was happening.  Of course, I had no illusions; in fact, in the back of my head, I was already trying to clear some time in my schedule to bring the car up to my nephew so someone who knew what they were doing could fix it.  To my very untrained eye everything looked like it should; nothing was being blocked, and the door latch thingee on the door popped in and out.

I was about to shut the door (actually, slam the door) when I noticed the scratches.

Please forgive my lack of knowledge of the technical terms, but when you shut the door it latches onto this thing--

I saw there were a few scratches on the black paint around it, and when I touched it I noticed it was loose.  So loose, in fact, that the door wouldn't properly connect to it and wouldn't shut as tightly as it should.  

I had discovered the problem.

There are two bolts holding the latch-thingee into place, and they didn't have the usual screwdriver heads on them.  I'm guessing there's some kind of special car fixer tool you use, but I didn't know for sure.  Nor did I know if there was anything I could do.  But I tried.  I took my house key, which looked like it would fit, and tried to tighten the bolts hold the latch-thingee in place.

Amazingly, it actually worked.

The latch-thingee seemed to be sitting in there firmly, and when I shut the door it closed like it should, with no warning lights and what felt like a very tight seal.  I don't know how I did it, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to do it again. but I actually fixed something on a car.

And I didn't even have to call anyone for help.

I realize that for most people in most families, this would not be a big deal.  Most people in most families would just take a look and say something along the lines of "your latch-thingee's loose".  But I'm not most people.  Thankfully, though, some of my family's mechanically-inclined DNA must have been lurking somewhere in my body, and for a brief moment Sunday, I was able to put it to use.

So Dad...I guess there's hope for me yet.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)