nature

Funny old cars

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While the world chases the next new and big car, they have lost something in this rat race. The charm and fun memories that an old car provides. Thanks to my husband and his passion for old cars, I have a treasure trove of car memories. Here are a few!

Story 1: Loony toons

We drove our diesel cars on waste vegetable oil for many years. This required collecting used vegetable oil from restaurants. We had a deal with the local fried chicken restaurant that we would collect their oil for free every week. This worked well for them since they would otherwise have to pay to get their oil hauled away.

Every week, Johan or I would go to pump out the waste vegetable oil from their oil tubs. It was dirty work, but ok, that’s what we did back then.

One fine evening Johan’s employee, a guy who found everything funny, and I went to collect the oil. I was driving and he was in the passenger seat. On our way home after collecting the waste oil, I was driving the main road back home. Just when I was about to make my right turn to the house, the power steering of the old Mercedes that we were driving failed! So, of course, I couldn’t make the turn. Startled, I yelled at the guy that I couldn’t turn. He went into peels of laughter saying that the power steering had died.

Giving him an incredulous look, I shouted, “stop laughing and pull!” We both pulled on the steering wheel together to make the next right turn, in a move that would remind one of an old fashioned cartoon show where the characters pull on the steering wheel together while their faces are clouded with terror at the impending disaster. Only, in this case, my car mate’s face was alight with amusement.

Anyway, the car did grunt and respond to our endeavors and turned at the next right turn. With a few more similar turns around the block, we made it home, with aching arms and a story to remember!

Story 2: Rattling through the West Coast

This happened when Johan and I were dating (point to note, I still married him. Get ready to applaud!). We took a trip through the West Coast in a ford E350. It was oh, so romantic. We were shaken, literally. That’s less because of the romance, and more because the front axle of our car rattled wildly when we drove at certain speeds. I think a bearing was worn out. Johan did try to fix it many times, but she still rattled. When the rattling would start, we would try to change our speed until the poor car calmed down. This meant often driving at slow speeds.

This rattling car gave us many moments of laughter. For instance, Johan had dropped me off at a copy center to make some photocopies while he went to consult a mechanic in Paige, Arizona. Once I was done, I went and sat by a tree. Soon two native American men (one youngish, and another old) sat on either side of me and were talking to me about marrying into their tribe. Sensing trouble, I nodded and smiled at them until I saw Johan at which I ran saying, “That’s my boyfriend. Bye!” to the annoyed duo.

The most sensational moment came when we had to reach Lake Powell to catch a ferry to get across by Friday at 5 pm. The ferry didn’t run over the weekends. Of course, the car rattled, and we slowed down. Finally we made it just in time to see that the last boat had just left the dock. We stood at the dock, stomping and shaking our heads in dismay, when, lo and behold! The ferry turned around. We couldn’t believe our eyes. As we stared, the ferry came closer and closer until it was back. The kindly captain said that he had noticed us and decided to come back to get us. How amazing.

Story 3: Car lost and found

This was in 2019. We took a family trip through the West Coast and were on our way out from Death Valley. We were traveling in a city bus which had been converted into a camper, and towing an old jeep Cherokee. Dog needed to pee, so we stopped for a brief second. Dog ran around the bus and we followed. Then we stopped dead in our tracks. For, the jeep was gone. The tow rod was dragging on the ground minus the jeep!

After recovering from the minor heart attack following this discovery, we turned around, not sure how long ago we had lost the jeep. Death valley is a treacherous landscape, with valleys everywhere. The car could easily have rolled off one of these cliffs. Hoping for the best, we drove, looking for the car. As always, luck was with us. The jeep was found half a mile off road, miraculously intact, sitting straight, not far away from a cliff. It had hit various boulders and had come to a standstill with not much damage. It looked really funny, its back facing the road, like it was angry at being left behind and sulking!

Johan was able to get it driving, and we drove to the nearest town with him driving the bus and me the lucky jeep. Such a beautiful memory. The section of Death Valley that I drove is my favorite section now. I can still visualize that mindboggling landscape.

To finish this story off, we went to Lone Pine, which is the first town near Death Valley. There, as luck would have it, Johan met a guy at a garage who was an excellent welder. He and Johan made a whole new tow rod gear with double the reinforcements so that the jeep could no longer take off for its personal adventures!

More funny old car stories when inspiration strikes.

Animal musings

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Kylo Ren the dog; It’s a hot day. I hear it is only April, and we are above 80 degrees. If that was not bad enough, my Papa put me in this orange military vest before taking me to the junkyard. Now, although the vest makes me look even more handsome than normal, I was boiling. Of course, when I saw my junkyard girl friend, I played it cool. I pretended that I was very comfy and in my elements in the horrible vest. I think she bought it! I did have to take a dip in the creek after all my posing. The good thing is, my girl friend is crazy about me (I hope).

In other news from around these parts, I have been eating bumble bees. They are very poor sports, though. They sting when I grab them in my mouth. Yesterday was the worst. I made the big mistake of biting on a bumble bee in front of Tanya and Mom. Their solution? Tanya opened my mouth big to look inside. Mom took water and put it in my throat. To add insult to injury, they yelled at me all the time while doing this torturous routine. I almost drowned! I ran in and only came out much later when they were diverted. Then I ate some more bumble bees. Yum!

Rosie the dog: I am a miracle dog! You don’t believe it? Guess what?! After 2 months of not being able to get up on my hind legs at all, and not even being able to drag myself around, I am suddenly up and walking! My human family is astounded! Now, I do fall over. But I am able to lift my backside now. Soon you will hear about me running around in the yard, looking for my sweet chicken friend Daisy.

My days are mostly spent sleeping. However, now that spring is here, I have graduated from sleeping outside the front steps to laying in the grass.

Yesterday was very hot. I was missing hanging out in the pond. So I tried to drag myself over the high dikes into the water. That was too much of a challenge. But before you think that I didn’t get what I wanted, think again! As I mentioned, I am a miracle dog. Instead of me going over to the pond, the pond came flying over to me. Leena took water from the pond and poured it all over me. Ah, heaven. I spent the rest of the evening rolling about in the grass and sniffing it out.

Baby the chicken: Kylo Ren has gone crazy (yet again). He went after me the other day! Luckily Tanya was there, otherwise I could have become a chicken kabob hanging from his fangy teeth. I think we chickens will have to come up with a plan to set him right. He is getting way too big for his paws.

Something interesting happened the other day. We sisters were hanging out in the yard as usual. I did my late morning head count to make sure none of the chickens were missing. Guess what?! I counted 5 instead of our usual 4. I thought the sun was making me see double. But then, when I looked more carefully, one of the “chickens” was actually a “she duck”! Actually female ducks are called hens. So I wasn’t that far off in my initial count. But, of course, the duck was nothing like us. For one, she could actually fly (sigh!). She also looked completely different from us (although equally cute, ahem). We had a gala time exchanging notes about our lives. Duck told us that she usually flies around with two male ducks (called drakes – see how well informed I am?) prior to egg laying season. “Why two?”, I asked. She told us that once they find a pond that she likes, the trio lands. Then while she grooms herself and checks out her new home, the drakes have a fight to decide who will be her mate for the upcoming egg season. All she has to do is to paint her nails (with the pond water) and wait for the outcome of the fight. Finally, the losing drake flies off in shame while the winning drake and hen set up their new home for the season.

We chickens were extremely jealous and indignant when we heard this. We have zero roosters here. We have to contend ourselves by pretending that the humans are roosters. One good thing in our favor, the humans feed and care for us, while the ducks do not get that kind of treatment (smug look on Baby’s face).

Anyway, once we were done with our social visit, the hen duck took a splash in a discarded little green kid’s pool in the backyard. Once she was done splashing, she proceeded to play around in the pond before flying off. How nice to have a social visit from a hen, instead of the usual riff raffs that visit, such as bunnies, moles, mice, squirrels or chipmunks. We hope to see more of our new hen friend. Who knows, maybe one of us can take the losing drake as a boyfriend! Ooh, opportunity knocks!