Monday, September 16
Well, the crew and I show up at Rudy’s Automotive at one o’clock for our appointment to have the resistor put in the air conditioner’s blower motor.
A few minutes later Mechanic Jerry invites me into the bay where the PTV sits. Oh no, this isn’t good. The dreaded Walk Into The Bay.
He shows me a burnt something-or-other.
“Your connector’s burnt,” he explains.
“What?” I peer closely at the connector. Yep, it’s burnt. “Why is it burnt?” I ask.
“Voltage . . . Happens all the time,” he explains.
“Sounds like a design flaw,” I mumble-grumble.
Mechanic Jerry waits.
“Can you take care of it today?” I ask.
His cellphone rings and it’s an obvious call-back. Mechanic Jerry says okay to the caller.
“Nope. Gotta’ order the part,” he explains.
“When will you have it?” I ask.
“Tomorrow. Comes from across the pond,” he explains.
“How much does it cost?” I ask.
“Oh, about seventy dollars . . . plus we’ll have to cut out the template for the part to go in,” he explains. He points to the place in the hood.
“Huh? Why’s that?” I ask.
“It’s a redesign. We do this all the time. You can see the template in the resistor box,” he explains.
I halt this fascinating exchange so I can get through this blog post some time today. Darn! Darn! Darn!
The crew and I scurry off to the waterfront.
It seems expenses always come in bunches. I could verify everything by going to another shop. Gee, I don’t want to do that. If I pay more than I would somewhere else, I don’t care. Why waste sunshine grubbing around to save a few dollars? And maybe I wouldn’t save a cent . . .
I am fortunate to be able to pay this bill, so why fret?
The crew and I walk along the shore. Clouds shift across the sky.
One of the many things I like about the vagabond life is seeing how other people live. I wonder about the person whose livelihood depends on this boat.
And all the people who make the transfer of goods possible. Hmm. . . like that stupid connector . . .
Tuesday, September 17
Here we are, once again, at Rudy’s Automotive. I bring the crew and my laptop to the waiting room. The lady who mans the office . . . er . . . who womans the office says I can use their WiFi and electrical outlet. I read and answer comments, as well as catch up on national and world news. Ugh, how depressing.
Fast forward to the bill . . .
The connector: $70.10. Labor to install resistor and connector (seven-tenths of an hour): $58.80. Total bill: $139.73 (includes $10.83 tax).
Time to eat!
“Where’s a good place to go for lunch?” I ask the office lady. “A place somewhere between fast food and white table cloths.”
She suggests The Chestnut Cottage.
It’s only a block and a half away.
Nothing takes the sting out of an auto repair bill quite like a pair of delectable crab cakes resting on a bed of sweet potato fries with freshly made coleslaw on the side!
rvsue
Note: Sorry . . . no photo of the crab cakes (a lunch special at $13.99). You can see the restaurant and menus by clicking here: The Chestnut Cottage
And then come back to go shopping at Amazon!
THANK YOU, RVSUE SHOPPERS!
