Twenty-Dollar Door
Today when I walked outside to start my car, the door wouldn't open. I assumed that this was happening since it was frozen. So I pulled harder. Finally, with a loud crack, the door decided to concede the point.
What it did next, however, befuddled me to a great extent. I climbed in, started the car, and shut the door- only the door didn't close. It just bounced off the car like it was in a cartoon and swung back out, teasing me from just out of reach. So I tried again. It bounced again, this time harder. So I sighed, turned off the engine, and climbed out into the cold. (I did remember to roll down the window in case it shut and refused to open.)
I tried shutting it from the outside- no luck. By now neighbors were coming out to leave for work and watching as I slammed the door against the car to no avail. No one offered to help. I discovered that the catch was jammed down, as if the door was already closed. I tried to pull it open with a shoe string, pry it open with a screwdriver, and chisel it open with a hammer. No luck. (Looking back, I think I tried to use brute force because I was in a hurry and didn't want to think about the problem.)
Since I was going to be late, I decided to drive it to school the way it was. It was fine, except for right turns, because the centrifugal force threatened to pull the door- and my arm with it. But I made it. I parked like normal, and gently nudged my dilapidated door against the car. The dome light went off at least, thank goodness.
So now, while trying to teach, I found myself worrying about the car. It's seven years old, but if someone were to steal it I'd be out about $2000 I don't have right now. So I checked on it between classes but I was uneasy most of the morning.
Finally, during fourth period, I found a solution. There's a kid in my class who's handy with cars. I told him what the problem was and that if he could fix it I'd give him $20. He said he'd take a look. He comes back five minutes later and Presto it's shut. He didn't want to take the money but I told him he'd done me a favor because I was going crazy worrying about it. Also, I'm sure a mechanic would have charged me at least $45. He said that the plastic coating on the catch was caught up in the mechanism and he had to remove part of it with his keys.
I guess there are some fringe benefits to teaching, after all.
What it did next, however, befuddled me to a great extent. I climbed in, started the car, and shut the door- only the door didn't close. It just bounced off the car like it was in a cartoon and swung back out, teasing me from just out of reach. So I tried again. It bounced again, this time harder. So I sighed, turned off the engine, and climbed out into the cold. (I did remember to roll down the window in case it shut and refused to open.)
I tried shutting it from the outside- no luck. By now neighbors were coming out to leave for work and watching as I slammed the door against the car to no avail. No one offered to help. I discovered that the catch was jammed down, as if the door was already closed. I tried to pull it open with a shoe string, pry it open with a screwdriver, and chisel it open with a hammer. No luck. (Looking back, I think I tried to use brute force because I was in a hurry and didn't want to think about the problem.)
Since I was going to be late, I decided to drive it to school the way it was. It was fine, except for right turns, because the centrifugal force threatened to pull the door- and my arm with it. But I made it. I parked like normal, and gently nudged my dilapidated door against the car. The dome light went off at least, thank goodness.
So now, while trying to teach, I found myself worrying about the car. It's seven years old, but if someone were to steal it I'd be out about $2000 I don't have right now. So I checked on it between classes but I was uneasy most of the morning.
Finally, during fourth period, I found a solution. There's a kid in my class who's handy with cars. I told him what the problem was and that if he could fix it I'd give him $20. He said he'd take a look. He comes back five minutes later and Presto it's shut. He didn't want to take the money but I told him he'd done me a favor because I was going crazy worrying about it. Also, I'm sure a mechanic would have charged me at least $45. He said that the plastic coating on the catch was caught up in the mechanism and he had to remove part of it with his keys.
I guess there are some fringe benefits to teaching, after all.
posted by Yorick at 9:18 AM
1 Comments:
That is near about the saddest story I have ever heard.
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