Fix My Truck

"'Routine surgery' is the surgery done on someone else."

Bill R.

 

Baltimore, 2021:

It was a brilliant white building with at least seven bay doors, at twelve stories high with a huge neon sign on the roof which proudly proclaimed, "Auto Analysis and Restoration".

He pulled in to the open bay door "Service".  A smallish, middle-aged man, white shirt, power tie, and a clipboard met them.  He stepped out, as the service writer approached,

"Good morning, My name is Bruce, I'll be your service manager this morning.  What seems to be the problem?", he said, polishing his glasses on the tail of his lab coat.

 "She don't seem to be running right. Engine sputters once in a while; not much power.  'couple of weeks ago it acted like there wasn't enough air getting into the carburetor, the tire pressure went way up and, believe it or not, she gained about 500 pounds, or so it seemed by the way she struggled to get up the hills."

"Hmmm," said the service writer, "Old model, '34, maybe?"

"Yeah, but only about 80K miles.  Engine's been a little weak for a long time, but only got worse recently/"

"Probably overloaded; all that extra aftermarket stuff you've got on 'er."

"Pull over here on the scales; my assistant will take the tire pressure and get an oil sample.", and with that he unlimbered the stethoscope from around his neck and listened intently; front, back, high, low, accompanied by the occasional "Hmmmm".
 

"Well, can you fix it or  not?", he said, fidgeting in front of the service writer's podium.

"We'll have to run some more tests."

"Like what?"  came the agitated response, "Why don't you just open the hood and give it a look?"

"These models don't have a hood, 'sealed compartment, 'only way to work on the engine is to cut it open right down the center line of what should be a hood.  We have special tools and training; not everybody can do this.  That's why we have tests to determine just what's wrong in there, then maybe we can go in and fix it."

"So, what tests?"
 

"We'll start with an X-ray, then use an ultrasound machine, then if we need more information, we'll put her on these rollers and rev 'er up till she stutters, so we can tell just what is needed."

"Isn't that dangerous?'

"Well, yes, it could blow the engine, but we can restart it most of the time, and then we'll know exactly what's wrong."

"Don't want to risk that;  is there any other way?"

"Takes two days, 'costs more, but if you say so---."

A few days later:

"We have your tests results."

" and?"

"Some blockage is indicated in the fuel lines feeding the engine."

"So?"

"We need to run another test."

"Like what?"

"Its name is hard to spell, but we tap into the fuel line back here by the rear doors, and put a tube up into the engine. We can then put in small camera and see where the blockage(s) are."

"(s)?"

"There may be more than one, the line branches out to each of the cylinders; if it's not too bad, we may be able to fix it on the spot."

And still later:

"You have blockages."

"and did you fix 'em?"

"Not exactly."

"Why not?"

"Seems they are too many and too severe to fix through the tube, and not likely to solve the problem for very long."

"So what now?"

"We need to replace those lines that are blocked."

"You said it was sealed; you can't get in there."

"We have to cut it open."

"and?'

"We stop the engine, hook up the engine to this machine that does its work for a little while, then take out the blocked sections and replace them, hook the engine back up, start it up and close the compartment and you're good to go."

"You got the spare pieces of gas line."

"We just cut pieces from the lines down near the wheels and put them in the engine."

"'You done this before?"

"Lots of times; just bring 'er down here first thing in the morning and we'll get right on it."
The service writer turned, looked back, "I almost forgot", he said, "Don't add any gas or antifreeze after midnight."

 

TO BE CONTINUED   ---------------------

Missouri Justice

"Beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly.

Play the dead march as you carry me along.

Take me to the green valley and lay the sod o're me,

For I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong"

"Streets of Laredo"

 

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"So, how're we doin?", Steve asked as he sipped his coffee.

"Are we making any progress? Are you learning anything? And, most importantly, are you gaining any data that you will be able to use in your thesis?" 

Jim studied the frames of Steve's glasses for several seconds.  "I am learning, its not what I expected, but it puts a different slant on the subject, more person-centered.  I think I was expecting more 'history type' data; now I'm looking more to the effect of times and events on the people who lived it.  I think I like this better; don't know yet what my counselor will think."

They sat at a corner in a small diner on Route 25 on the North edge of Kennett.  When the meal was finished, Steve pulled from his bag a heavy green book, and lay it on the table. "My mother's family history; a collection of facts, stories, newspapers, genealogy and other stuff, wanted to show you.  It was put together a few years back by one of my cousins, Larry Corlew.  He and his wife spent years travelling and collecting this.  Book is out of print for years, but I got lucky.  This was my sister's copy which her daughter was kind enough to lend me."
"What I wanted to show you is a collection of old newspaper articles that Larry had reprinted as part of the book.  Every family has its black sheep; these clippings are about bad man (outlaw, if you will) who had the same last name as my mother's family.  As you will see, this guy's father had died when he was quite young and his mother remarried, giving him another name.  He apparently used both, but favored "Corlew", so that is the name his deeds are recorded under.  No one seems to know what his connection, if any, was to the family tree; not sure they looked very hard.  In any event, there is no known relationship to the "rest of us.  Just goes to show that the 'old wild west" maybe wasn't quite as old, and not as far west as most of us would think; it was, however, unquestionably wild."
"The event described here happened in 1880 in the little town of Moberly Missouri, located about half way between St. Louis and Kansas City, just a little north of the main highway between the two cities, and, to put it in perspective, this was about a year before Pat Garrett shot Billy the Kid, and Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday made the 'Gunfight at the OK Corral' a part of American history". 

He pushed the book across the table, "Here's one of the more complete and readable renditions;  must be a half dozen clippings in there and most tell essentially the same story."

---------------------------

 

Moberly Missouri, 1880

 

 

 

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Jim closed the book, looked up and smiled, "Quite a story!"

"Just to give you a flavor of the times, and the atmosphere of the community.  My grandfather began his family at about this time.  Born 1860, he went to Texas and then to the Oklahoma Territory until around the turn of the century, when my grandmother died.  Had nine children, all of whom survived, a survival rate quite rare for the time.  My mother was the last of the nine, born in 1900.  Grandpa apparently did well in Oklahoma, there is a record of his being president of the local chapter of  the 'Anti-horse Thief Society.'  Yeah, really, it was a national organization whose primary purpose seemed to be furnishing men ready, willing and able to ride in the sheriff's posse in pursuit of horse thieves, etc.  Look it up sometime."

Jim smiled, stretched, yawned and pushed back his chair.  "So what's next, where do we go tomorrow?"

"Back to Clay County.  See you at breakfast."

 

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Editor's note:  The article printed above was copied from Larry and Vi Corlew's book, "We Were Here, The Corlew Family Geneology".  It obviously had been previously printed in "A History of Randolph County" of which I have no information.  Some parts, (about one page) have been omitted in the interest of brevity.

ed

 

ps:  The inserts are jpg files.  They may not transmit well. If they don't, please accept my apologies, don't know what else to do just now.