WE TOOK our blue Jazz to the auto repair shop today. Days before, when we brought it in for one of her many regular oil changes and check-ups, the mechanic at Shell had strongly recommended that we should have its front-right shock absorber replaced immediately. Apparently, that particular shock was shot after serving us and Jazz’s former owners dutifully for a total of 18 full years.
Just imagine the countless humps, bumps, and potholes the poor car had to endure throughout her existence, not to mention the handling she got from the many hands that drove her.
I remember, this is my son’s first car; the only one he’s using right out of driving school. So, from being rough at the edges, kind of a newbie that he was when he started, up to the smooth driver he has turned into nowadays, Jazz, with her capacity to absorb whatever terrain was put in front of her, deserves a loving tap. For these, I’m of the mind to hand her the worthy title of “The Little Car that Could.”
While the go-to guy in the repair shop got busy taking her front wheel down, my mind had already gone farther ahead to daydreaming land, as I expected him to be long in his task. Alas, it’s not a strange or far-fetched idea if sometimes, we (or I and perhaps a few people) try to imagine ourselves as being like a car (as to what specific type, our personal choice, of course).
After all, it’s not surprising, there are a few qualities that we have in common, like having shock absorbers, for example.
As for the bumps of life, our journey is full of them. It is never a paved highway out there. In our life-realm, pot holes are a-plenty, too. In a way, there’s no imaginary DPWH to pave and cover them for us. If there were… I’m not going there.
This is why a well-upholstered seat, cushioned to perfection, may at first sound like the only logical (and tangible) equipment we can think of if we were a car. However, it’s the psychological shock absorbers that are still much better.
Indeed, if I were a car, I’d first look for the brand that spelled ‘patience’. While for the road that’s long with many a winding turn, brands like ‘determination’ and ‘focus’ are the Chinaman in your mind’s recommended buys, surely, for humps and bumps, he’d say, rolling with them’s the only way, ad-copying as he goes.
My reverie’s cut short, as the actual Uyanguren shop breaks it gently, I’d have to add P1,000 more for the specific type I would need, or go with less for the Taiwanese variety. Can I have the Patience brand instead? Amusing, yes, but that was the first thing on my mind.
