Mighty Zu
Mood:  cool
Topic: Cold Day in Hell

The call came in just as Shirley was bringing my sandwich, “Tell em it’s gonna be at least 2 hours” she growled, “they can just wait”. She’s protective of me that that way, (or maybe she just knows that when I’m get in a hurry I sometimes forget to tip) I smiled and nodded to her and ask what was up? Dispatch was all in lather, “Dan’s broke down again…and this time it’s bad”. He’s down in a real rough neighborhood just south of town, called “The Points”. Says the engine just quit and it doesn’t have any electrical power. I knew the area, gave them a 45 min e.t.a., wolfed down my tuna and headed for the truck. I’ll catch up with Shirley next time.

 

  The neighborhood wasn’t so bad, in fact not even worth mentioning though it was primarily Black and Hispanic.  I would have greatly appreciated knowing that he was not in the parking lot of Trian’s fish market as I had been told, but was actually in the road blocking the intersection! His Alternator had gone out some miles back but he said he was trying to get to a better place to park before he called for help. When his batteries went completely dead and the engine died he was headed south on rout eighty one, a two lane highway exiting “The Points”. He was at a stoplight at the corner of eighty one and Goodwin Street going up a fairly steep hill. Trians is on the left and sits about five feet above the roadbed. When his engine died he attempted to roll backwards into Trians parking lot, which was also on a hill but at a different grade than the road. He got the rear tandems into the lot but couldn’t get enough speed to overcome the grade and get the rest of the rig off the road. So he ended up blocking both lanes and part of Trians Fish Market parking lot.

 

  Trian was not happy. He had recently purchased the store at a bankruptcy sale and moved his business into it. He had also just had his parking lot resurfaced, sealed and the lines painted. When I arrived traffic was flowing around the right side of the truck where drivers heading south had just enough room to squeeze by the cab. The northbound traffic had been diverted into Trians parking lot and was making its way around the rear of the trailer and back onto eighty one. The local news crew was having a big time interviewing the sixty to eighty people who were milling about watching the proceedings. When I told the Officer he should have just called a wrecker he starred at me for several uncomfortable moments and said, “Well we all gotta make a living”.  

 

 I decided the first step had to be clearing the road so I had the patrolman block the north bound flow while I backed my truck to the rear of the trailer hooked up a chain and prepared to pull him straight back into the lot. I instructed the driver to keep his wheels turned, that it may be hard as he crossed the curb but to hold the wheel and keep the rig inline. Of course we ended up jackknifed, I’m not sure if he can’t back or if he just didn’t try, but the cab swung around, pushing the rear of the trailer to the right, as I was trying to pull it to the left. The force of gravity took over when I hit the brakes and kept it rolling for several more feet dragging me behind it, before the driver had the presence to hit his brakes. Needless to say we were in a mess at that point. The rear of the trailer was almost turned heading south, and the cab was still fully in the northbound lane and the crowd was going wild, it was the best show they had in the area in quite awhile. I unhooked my truck and re positioned behind the trailer once more, this time heading south. Trians is positioned approximately five feet above the roadbed but on the same slope of the hill. I had to pull straight up the hill, but at a steep angle as I had to go perpendicular to the building.

 

 Luckily the driver was at the end of his rout and only had about ten thousand pounds of product left as I drive a Isuzu NPR box truck with a four cylinder diesel engine. It’s hardly a powerhouse and though I knew it could pull it, the slope of the hill had me concerned. I was not alone, I heard murmuring from the crowd, and distinctly heard “Be cold in hell for that lil truck pulls that big thing”.  I had the driver release his brakes, then I tensioned the chain and pulled him. As I got him moving good the tires begin to lose traction but I knew I only had one shot at it so I shifted into second and put the pedal to the metal. I made it another 10 feet before I lost all forward momentum and came to a squealing, smoking halt. There was absolute silence as I exited the cab. Then I heard, “Boy I hope yer grandma gots her a sweater cause it goin git cold down in Hell tonight”.

 

Heat Wave
Mood:  on fire
Topic: All in a days work.

I saw a tick die from heat stroke last week. No I mean it; he just fell off Maggie's belly, and had a spasm right there on the porch and died! I know it was heat stroke. I've seen it before, many times my friend. His completion was pasty (for a tick), he appeared to be panting and gasping for breath, and he was NOT sweating! I mean not a drop and you know how ticks can sweat! And that means HEAT STROKE!

 That’s just the kind of summer it’s been. Ice melts away and runs into the floor when you open the freezer door. It’s been imposable to get a cold drink. The consensus is that it’s been the hottest summer on record. You just know it’s true. It’s that global warming, there’s no longer any doubt.

 Well this week it finely broke and temps returned to a normal level and it put me in mind of the fact that as fall approaches winter is not far behind. Maintenance personal should check antifreeze/DCA levels anytime the unit is serviced but great care should be taken this time of year because a freeze can sometimes occur without warning, despite climate change, or perhaps because of it. (I don't think they are quite sure how that works.) 

 Tire PSI will start to drop as the temperature cools so be prepared to raise the pressure as the weather turns colder. A drop of 20 PSI between August and December is not uncommon.

 Fall is also a good time to replace windshield wipers. Summer heat takes its toll on the rubber just when you need them for the heavy winter work. Also pay close attention to the condition of drive belts, wheel seals, and any other rubber product. The cooler weather will cause them to contract and stiffen.

A-Tech offers a complete Preventive Maintenance program and keeps all common parts in stock. Call us today to schedule your appointment.

The times they are a changing
Mood:  mischievious
Topic: Southern Spanish

 One of our first and most loyal customers is an El Salvadorian immigrant. One of his businesses’ is an Mexican grocery that was beside a beauty salon in a small strip mall. I would often repair his truck behind the string of stores.

 One summer’s day I was there and the AC unit for the building was not working, so all the businesses had their doors open. It was hot and steamy, and three or four of his employees were unloading the truck. It kinda reminded me of when I was in the U S Navy Seabees in Puerto Rico. So we were all working and sweating, and I was thinking back on old times, and friends and how some things had changed and others stayed the same.

 My battalion had spent several years in the Caribbean and we had a fairly large number of men from Puerto Rico, a couple from Mexico and even one from Argentina. Any time we went out on town I always tried to speak what broken Spanish I had picked up, and every time one of them would give me grief about my "Southern Spanish".

 Eventually I worked it into a little routine that went something like this. "K Posso A-Meeger!" (this is said while smiling and waving big like Gomer Pyle) "Poor favor duce Budweiser’s" (this said while holding up 2 fingers). They all howled with laughter the night I debuted it in Papa Joes, and for the next 4 years anytime I encountered one of them I heard "K Posso A-Meeger"!

 Well they got the truck unloaded well before I got that fuel pump mounted and things got quite as I was left with my memories. It was then I noticed that I could hear parts of the conversation from inside the beauty shop. ....taking over the whole county.....swarming all over the neighborhood......Gonna run us all out of our jobs....... ...cant even speak English....etc etc etc. 

  All of a sudden I felt it, someone staring holes right in me. I looked up and saw her standing in the doorway. She had came outside to smoke let me tell you she moved real quite for a big gal. Yeah she was one of those, you know the type, big hair, massive cleavage, and way to much makeup.  I mean she was probably very pretty in high school but lets just say that childbirth has not been kind to her. So I look up, make eye contact and nod, it’s really to hot to speak and I didn’t feel like making the effort. But she’s all worked up and isn’t going to let it go that easy. It’s not totally her fault. I'm sort of dark skinned (Indian on my father’s side they say), I had about 3 day’s growth of beard on my face and I was moderately dirty from installing a fuel pump on an Isuzu NPR. I mean truth be told I may have drawn the same conclusion if I was in her place.

 But I would not have asked in that haughty tone of voice "So have you been in my country very long"? I don’t know what possessed me; usually I'm left saying something really stupid and only thinking of a good response later. But sometimes I guess God just guides us and before I knew it I had answered in the most perfect Southern Spanish you ever heard, "See Seen Ya Reater". She just threw down her butt and stalked back inside. I guess its like they say, some days your the windshield and some days the bug.