I was thinking about my Dad earlier. When I was about 17, I used to wash Dads cars at the carwash across from the high school. I didnt really do it to wash his cars, I did it so I could listen to his radio. He always had nice cars, with nice radios. He had three. One for him, one for Mom, and one just in case one of them broke down. I was really exited when he got a new 77 Ranchero. It started one day when I thought why not ask, the most he could say is no. So I told him, Hey Dad, Ill wash your cars if you let me drive them to the car wash and he said Sure. I was shocked. Naturally it took me a while, because I would drive slow to listen to the radio, sit at the car wash after I washed it, and drive home slow. It was a straight shot from the house. Right up Scyene and on the corner. The first time I did it, after I was through with all three cars, Dad came in from doing stuff outside and he said Come here boy, I want to show you something. We went outside and he said You didnt wash the panels under the doors. Look, theres dirt. You wash them right or you dont get to. I was embarrassed. So I took them back and made sure they were clean. When I got home, he told me they looked much better. And of course one day he came home from work and said Boy, next time you wash my car...turn that dadblasted radio off. I got in this morning and liked to had a heart attack. I dont care you listen to the radio, but turn it off. He sounded serious, but later Mom said he thought it was funny. A few years later, after I had kids, Mom and I were talking about me washing the cars. I said You know I did it so I could listen to the radio and Mom said I know. And Bill knew it too. But he was happy to get a free car wash. And all that time I thought I was getting away with it. I miss Dad. He taught me alot, especially about cars. Hed say Ill show you how to do it. Im not doing it for you. Later when I was grown, hed let me work on his cars. That made me feel good. Because he was a Master Mechanic. Worked for the City of Dallas in the make ready. Worked on the power take off drives for the stuff that took hydraulics. Like the dump trucks. He wanted to move up to the next level at work, so he studied for a test. He wrote down tons of notes to study. He came in one night and said Boy, Ill give you $10 if you rewrite these notes for me. I wrote them down but I cant read a single word. I was in high school and that was alot of money. I spent about 4 or 5 hours doing it. It was funny. He was a sloppy writer. But he passed the test and moved up a grade. He gave me $20 after he took the test. Once, his Ranchero broke down and he came home and asked me to tow him home. He was so impressed witht the way I did it. That made me feel so good. He knew I was concerned about safety and doing it right. Because there is a right way and a wrong way to tow a car. He let me hlep him put a transmission in his car once. I was so proud that he would let me help him work on his cars. Dad was a Master Mechanic, Expert Marksman and played the steel guitar and the electric guitar. After he retired, he got into crafts. Like ceramics. He taught himself how to do that and bought him a kiln. Bought a table saw and taught himself woodwork. He used to go to the craft fairs and sell his bird houses. Hed make more than $300 on most weekends hed go. He even got into photography. He was pretty good at that too. I miss that old man.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 03:29:04 +0000