Thursday, December 30, 2021

You Miserable Offender



It started off well, no doubt about it. Morning Prayer on the porch, a stroll to the Pick 'n Steal for coffee, get back on the porch, scan the news, answer emails and then? Stride purposefully to the rig with a view to taking care of business. Turn that key in the ignition and... disaster. The wretched beast wouldn't turn over. Useless.

I knew why, a badly eroded battery terminal connector which I'd been too lazy distracted to replace. So up goes the hood, jig that thing around, turn the key and hope for the best. Fail. Next step. Stare malevolently at the offender, maybe I could scare it into function.

Just then a neighbor pulled up in his daughter's Chevy 1500 Z71, "Need a jump?" No, "Here's the problem." He looked at the malefactor, "You need a new one, I'll drive to Autozone, get the part and hook you up." Which he did, for free, because "you let me park here, least I can do, man."



Good call. He gets to park his monster lifted rigs in the church lot, which is fine by me but offensive to D, another neighbor, who shouts at me from his car, "That dude's panhandln! God will strike him down! Come Lord Jesus and hurry up."

Rural Eschaton aside, I'd say there's a virtue in neighborliness, peace on earth good will towards men, sort of thing. And you never know, they might turn up and fix your truck. Would that happen in the Metrosprawl? 

Not so much,

LSP

16 comments:

  1. What goes around comes around?
    Lovely neighbor (the shouter).

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  2. Always pay it forward, you know, that “love thy neighbor…” thing.

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  3. The parable of the Good Samaritan comes to mind, don't it?

    For Whom the Truck Does Not Crank
    (certainly not) by John Donne

    No battery cable is an island,
    Entire of itself.
    Each is a piece of the truck,
    A part of the DMV registration records.
    If a truck be washed away by the flooded low-water crossing,
    Texas is the less.
    As well as if a one-ton bro-dozer were.
    As well as if a Kenworth of thine own
    Or of thine friend's were.
    Each battery cable's failure diminishes me,
    For I am involved in truck ownership.
    Therefore, send not to know
    For whom the truck does not crank,
    It does not crank for thee.

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  4. I was going to suggest vaseline after cleaning the terminal; but that worked better.

    Here's to a blessed New Year for us all, Parson.

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  5. It's been a couple of years since I visited the Pick and Steal, but Blue Warrior is respected and feared there. Isn't that where the UPS driver was shown how they do it in Hillsboro?

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  6. I am inspired to give as well, but I'm too far to give more than this link to make sure you Never have that problem again

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  7. Now that, Kid, is a very good gift.

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  8. That's exactly the place, LL, and the fierce little warrior was sent to dog jail for a time, but powers in the town had words and he was released.

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  9. Right on, Paul, it's in the Good Book.

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  10. WSF, I like him, but he's... eccentric. Unlike me, obvs :)

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  11. What a great result, Ed. Come to think about it, I should probably hold tailgate services in the car park, it'd be a witness.

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  12. Posting that lin inspired me to go do some maintenance checks on the truck, fluids, etc.

    Noticed on the back of the can it says spray it on every 4 months. Not true of land vehicles anyway, maybe marine. It's been 5 years or more since I put it on my battery terminals and they still look like new.

    Just don't let any democrats near the vehicle.

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  13. Kid, that's SAGE advice. Never, ever, let Dems near the vehicle.

    Glad the terminals are clean.

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