Reflections From a Country Girl

Ever had a car break down?

I don’t know about you but I can’t do without my wheels.

A country song tells the story of a singer who has his car break down in a small town. The mechanic, who recognizes the famous singer, proceeds to tell him the many complicated things that are wrong with his car and says “don’t be downhearted I can fix it for you, sonny…it’ll just take money.”

The singer suspects the mechanic is not being on the up and up with him. He offers to sing him a song that needs some revisions and says he’ll be happy to trade him that song for the car repair plus $50 more than the job will take and explains “don’t be downhearted I can fix it for you, sonny…it’ll just take money.”

Cute song.

It is not the least bit cute, however, if you have a broken car and you have to go to a mechanic you don’t even know.

You see, mechanics are like doctors. Good ones are worth their weight in gold. I know you’ve probably recently seen the undercover reports where a number of mechanics lied and charged exorbitant fees to the undercover reporter who just had a lose wire on his car. It seemed several of the other mechanics were even worse with the unsuspecting females.

That one burns me up even more.

So, who DO you trust with your car?

My father taught me early that a good mechanic was one of those essentials in life. Mr. Rothrock was our families’ mechanic when we were growing up. Not only was he a great mechanic but he taught me a little about the eight cylinder four barrel mustang I had and some tricks I needed to know if the car broke down while I was driving it.

All three of us kids had 1965 mustangs and he kept them purring. My sister still had hers until a few years ago when she sold it to a “vintage” collector. That’s sort of scary to think that a car we use to drive is “vintage.”

Now, I go to a local mechanic shop I’ve taken my cars to for over 15 years. These guys are the cream of the crop when it comes to mechanics.

I trust Donnie, Billy and the crew with my life when it comes to my car. They know how to keep it running like a dream and I feel like they charge me honestly and fairly. I’ll even call them when, on occasion, my car breaks down out of town and ask for their advice before I repair it.

I recently bought a newer car and, while they were not able to look at it beforehand, I called and asked their advice on the kind I was thinking of. It was good advice – at least so far.

I also think the stronger the relationship with your mechanic the better. Don’t go jumping to conclusions now but, it’s like the doctor – some have good interpersonal skills and some don’t. To me, the stronger the interpersonal skills the better when it comes to dealing with people and their cars.

I was there the other day having my oil changed and waiting in the lobby. While I was there I saw several friends come in and out. That’s another positive sign that your mechanic is good – when you see your friends using the same mechanic you do and having a smile as they come and go.

My wish for you today: That you have a good mechanic and you never have to be without your wheels very long. If you don’t have a good one, ditch that one and start asking around to find out who your friends use. I’d sure hate for you to run into one of those that are on the shady side like in that country song.

Oh, and take the time to thank your honest mechanic for keeping you safely on the road.

~Joellen

This entry was posted on Monday, October 16th, 2006 at 8:57:pm and is filed under Friendship, Humor, Life & Events, Living Life to the Fullest, Teens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.