Monday, October 29, 2012

In which I learn About Cars


Yesterday was the last Sunday in October, and traditionally, the date upon which the Feast of Christ the King was celebrated. It was also the feast day of St. Jude, the patron of impossible cases, to whom one might pray when faced with insurmountable difficulties. Furthermore, according to this website, it was National Chocolate Day. Talk about a day fraught with import! I meant to do a post yesterday, making a big deal of all of that. And, really I would have... but that was before my car overheated as I was coming up the mountain, home from Sunday Mass. And despite the addition of oil and coolant, and the 20 minute rest I gave it, it continued to overheat.

To say that I found this distressing would be a grave understatement. I was quite torn between a desire to swear like a sailor, and the compulsion to burst into tears. I did neither, which was sensible of me. Even more sensibly, I pulled open the hood again, and, undeterred by the tangle of metal, wires and hoses that make up the innards of a car, set myself about figuring out why exactly neither oil nor coolant had remedied the situation. After a brief perusal... "well, lookie there! There is a hole in that hose there..... and it appears that my coolant is leaking out of that hole!" Time to call in Dad.

Have a really great Dad. He came at once, armed with gallons and gallons of water, and the determination to get me and my car home in one piece. We tried the water first, and when the radiator could take no more, we tried driving home.... Five minutes later, the car was overheating, and Dad was looking at the hole in the hose. Water and the dregs of coolant were streaming out the hole, and there was considerable wetness, where wetness ought not to be. My Dad, who is handy as well as obliging, studied the situation for a bit, removed the hose, and hacked off about two inches or so - enough to get rid of the hole. The hose just  fit back on again, and to my great delight, we were able to get my car home with no trouble. By that time, I had been stuck on the mountain for nigh onto three hours. I had a headache, and could have eaten a horse. (Though maybe not the scabby horse my friend always swears he could eat.)

As a result of this, I have learned a couple things that make me much handier than I was previously. To begin with, I know what a top radiator hose is, and where it is located on my vehicle. I took the car over to Dad's house today, along with a replacement hose, and now know how to replace a top radiator hose, should this situation ever arise again. (Though I dearly hope it does not.) Furthermore, I learned that I should have been paying closer attention to those old MacGyver shows we used to watch. MacGyver always averred that a person should always have duct tape handy, and a Swiss army knife as well. Of course, MacGyver used those things, mixed with a dash of high school chemistry, to thwart the evil machination of various thugs, villains and warlords. The principle still holds, though. Had I been in possession of either one of those items, I could have patched my top radiator hose myself. I bought duct tape today.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're so funny. Yeah, maybe MacGyver had more sense than we thought. *Grin* Being stuck in the same over-heating car in the hot sun is, to say the least, distressing. You handled it remarkably well for how you handled it.

So, Jack; missjacklewisbaillot.blogspot.com

TAGGED me. She said to tag other people through comments :D If you don't want to do the TAG thing again you don't have to

Ok, 11 facts about myself;

1) I hate waking up *Cold* in the morning. It makes me angry.

2) I get obsessed with TV shows easily... if they are good :)

3) I am a Whovian a Holmian and a Merlinite.

4) My hair reaches below my waist and I can almost sit on it.

5) I love musicals

6) My favorite musical is "The Phantom of the Opera"

7) I like "Les Miserables" but the music can get clunky and some of the songs are... NOT GOOD.

8)I am going to see the movie of "Les Mis" when it comes out on DVD.

9) I think LOTR is the best fantasy trilogy ever. ON screen and paper.

10) I love to act! I want to be an actress and get into musical theatre.(My teacher says I'm good and I could do this.)
11) I quote movies compusively.

Ok 11 questions

1)DO YOU LIKE MUSICALS?
2) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MUSICAL
3) IF YOU COULD STEP INTO A BOOK FOR A SINGLE DAY WHICH ONE WOULD IT BE?
5) DO YOU KNOW WHAT A "SILVER TONGUE" IS?
6) HOW DOES THIS QUOTE END; "THERE IS EVIL THERE...."
7) DO YOU LIKE HAVING YOUR PICTURE TAKEN?
8) DO YOU LIKE COLD OR THE WARM WEATHER BETTER?
9) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
10) DO YOU KNOW HOW A WAR CAN BE PAST DOWN FOR GENERATIONS BUT ONLY TAKE 7 DAYS?
10) WHO ARE THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS?
11) DO YOU KNOW WHAT A JEAN JUMPER IS?

I *Tag* you, MAHRI! If you want to answer you can do it in a post, saying that a follower tagged you OR you can publish it in the comment area. If you just don't want to do this or there is something against followers tagging bloggers, that's **Fine**
God Bless
Bella

Jack said...

Duct tape, how one fixes the universe.

I think, were I to run into car trouble I would shove back my seat, pull out the book I always carry with me, and read while I await my brothers to come and save me. (I have a fascination with engines and a desire to pull them apart and see how they work. Therefore, were I to try and fix it on my own, I would only make things worse.)

I am glad your dad was able to come and help you though. Everyone needs a dad like that.

I think I've seen The Hobbit copies like the one you said you own. They are very lovely and I like to flip through them at the book store. I think such a copy would make the read that much more pleasant.

Thank you for your sympathy over the cover. I was very annoyed with it, but thanks to my mum, I was finally able to get it done. Now I can sit back and stop thinking about covers for a couple months at least.

I think having you lurk in the chat room would be fun. If you like, I can email you the link. I am sending it out through email instead of posting it for all to find. And since I just remembered I have your email I shall go and send it.

Allons-y!

Katrina said...

Excellent. I shall go out and buy duct tape too. Though not the black and white checkered stuff I used to make my turtle's home more homey with. Normal, grey, stick-to-the-DEATH duct tape. One day it will look like MacGyver's too... slightly squashed from being in a back pocket, and a bit raggedy looking from being used so frequently. Are you upset that I laughed at you? Just wondering... :D

Mahri said...

Yes... Duct tape. Duct tape is good. If I could find tartan duct tape, I would be happy as a clam.

Bella, Thanks for the tag. I will try to get it into a post before diving in to Nanowrimo. I do *try* to handle things well.

Jack, I'm glad the cover finally came together. You put a lot of work into that. Now that I have stop going, "Gaach! What have I got myself into?!?!" I am looking forward to NaNo quite a lot.

Kat, No, I'm glad I made you laugh. However, I will admit that had you laughed at my in the midst of all that drama, I'd probably have clobbered you :-) Things like that are always funny once they've ended well.

Anonymous said...

Maria, you seriously have the worse luck in the world! Congrats on your new working car though!!! Gina :-)

Mahri said...

Gina ~ I know! I feel like there is a curse on me: if I look cross-eyed at a car, it will overheat. But that was just a fluke, and it is all well now. It really is a nice car :-)

Jack said...

I am most glad you like the cover. It is a comfort to know it would draw your attention enough for you to want to pick it up. (I was slightly nervous about the final outcome.)

Jack said...

I am sorry to hear you have NaNo troubles already. I hope you are able to get it all worked out soon. It is such a pity when one has plot troubles during this, because it isn't like one can put aside the book and work them out. I hope things smooth out soon.

Amy said...

I meant to comment on this one before...but I forgot. Nano and all.
Anyway. I really loved this post. It was so funny!
"Yes, duct tape...I LOVE duct tape!"