Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Car

On a sightseeing trip years ago, from Calgary to Lethbridge in an old 1963 Push Button Automatic Valiant. I bought the car for $100, but it was in pretty good nick body wise, even though I don't think the previous owner had ever changed the oil.
Halfway back to Calgary the engine oil light came on and the engine was knocking loudly. I pulled over to check the oil. According to the dipstick, there was none.
I put the last bit from an almost empty bottle of oil in and started her up. the light was still on and the engine was still knocking so I headed off the highway into a small town gas station and asked the guy there to top off the oil. Worried about the engine knocking I asked if he thought it would make it back to Calgary. "Ya no problem. " I pulled out of the gas station and within two blocks, the engine died and seized up for good as I coasted over to the side of the road and parked at the curbside. Hmm, not good ! *#*#*


For some strange reason we had brought our new kitten along for the ride and soon found ourselves in a Chinese restaurant with a kitten hidden in my coat and waiting for a Greyhound bus home. We were short a little on the fare and a patron that had struck up a conversation with us offered the full fare home to us. We got his address and number to pay him back, which we did shortly after. The kindness of strangers at work. I had no idea on how I was going to recover the car and it kind of got put on the back burner.


The following weekend while having a party at home, the RCMP called and said my car had been involved in an accident. What ? Instant bewilderment. A  young local lad was driving past it and reached down to retrieve a something on the floor he dropped and smashed into the back of the car pushing the trunk right up to the back window. Thankfully he wasn't hurt badly. His father evidently owned a garage and after getting an estimate of $900 to fix it, He offered to pay me $ 300 for the car and I happily took it.


Good Day My Friends;
Jeffrey R Hilton









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