Thoughts in an Auto Shop

As I’m writing this I’m sitting in an auto shop waiting for work to be done on the junker. It needs a new tire rod and that part is located in Kentucky. All told the car needs about $700 worth of work. Money is precious right now since the client in HBL’s case has reneged on his settlement agreement and I’m looking at about sixty days until I can get paid. What’s particularly upsetting is that the vehicle itself is worth about four grand, tops. The blue book value is just over four thousand but I’ve never believed the car is worth that much.

I think the dividing line for when a repair on a vehicle is worth it and when the vehicle has been driven into the ground is about 33% of the total value. This is under that margin, but just barely. The other thing is that we need the second vehicle for when we get out to California; I will be working and The Wife will need to be mobile to look for work and get things set up. So there isn’t much choice but to spend the money.

The owner of the shop is smoking at his desk and most of the mechanics smoke as they come in and out of the shop. It’s disarming to see people smoking indoors in places of business but that’s legal here in Tennessee. I normally consider myself a libertarian but I’m not doctrinaire about it. And it’s just plain better to not be in an environment with people smoking cigarettes than the opposite. Last night at my mother’s house I thought she snuck out to have a smoke (I hope I was wrong about that) and the smell set me off on a sneezing fit. I’m looking forward to being in a place where I can be in a more smoke-free environment.

I’m also looking forward to being in an environment where people are less casual about their use of the “n-word.” A couple of good ol’ boys – customers of the shop – were talking about how their vehicles had been stolen, and the identified culprits were, well, African-American. But these good ol’ boys didn’t even bother to lower their voices. This is not the first time I’ve come across such language here in the south, although it is a fortunately rare event. In defense of Tennessee, this kind of thing is unusual and not unique to here. But it did happen and it is upsetting.