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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Hurry Up

I’m writing in the back room this morning, while waiting for my first appointment to show up, when I hear the trusty motion detector, and see the front end of a car easing into the shop. The driver beeps the horn immediately. As I’ve stated in previous blogs, there’s nothing like being summoned by a car horn to get me ready for the Prom. I approach the car with measured steps, which doesn’t sit well with the young man sitting behind the driver’s wheel. He gives me a quick second beep, and holds up his hands in a ‘today, Crosby, today’ type gesture. This really makes me hot for the dance.

“Can I help you?” I ask. Hurry Up hasn’t moved from his seat.

“How much to throw some tire fix in my front tire?”

“I don’t fix tires here,” I reply, knowing even if I did, it wouldn’t be a spray goo fix. “Big O tires…”

“What?!” Hurry gasps in shock. “Man, what the hell do you do here?”

Okay, I’ll play for a couple minutes.

“I do general repair on all American and Asian vehicles, with the exception of transmission rebuilding, and alignments. I do some exhaust work, but I’m not competitive with the chains except with late model catalytic converter replacement,” I rattle off the facts politely.

“But you can’t do a tire… shit…” Hurry clucks at me disparagingly.

“I can do tire repairs. I choose not to.”

“Make an exception.”

This is getting interesting.

“No. Go down 38th, turn right on Foothill Blvd., Big O tires will be on your right,” I direct him, as his face grows more petulant. I say petulant, because if you’re a young no-it-all punk, that’s as close to menacing as you get.

Hurry Up glares at me petulantly for another fifteen seconds, and I start grinning. Hurry shakes his head in disgust.

“You ought to hire a mechanic,” Hurry prods me as he starts his car, and puts it into reverse.

“I’ll make a note.”

I hope having a beep-beep come in this morning brings me good luck. :)

6 comments:

Jordan Summers said...

You have the most fascinating customers. *ggg*

BernardL said...

Stop in... Jordan... stop in, not customer. :) They are good for literary content on the blog. I felt bad sending him to Big O Tires; but they should get a laugh down there when the conversation with this guy starts out 'Hey man, that incompetent jerk at Nilson Brothers Garage sent me...'

Barbara Martin said...

If you have encounters like that every day, its as if you have grist for your writing mill.

raine said...

Next time ask him if he wants fries with that flat...

Bernita said...

Amazing what a grin can convey.

BernardL said...

Some weeks, I get only a few notable encounters, Barbara, and some days my cup runneth over. :)

LOL, Raine!

The words it displaces can indeed avoid further conflict, Bernita. :)