He Deserves a Break

My cousin is fond of saying to me, "The best thing that ever happened to your car was marrying your husband." I'd agree but with the addition of "my house, my yard, my appliances," oh, and "me." It's really a good thing to have someone handy around. My dad couldn't screw in a light bulb so either my mother did everything or hired people to do even the most menial tasks. Most of the time they did lousy jobs and she would get blamed. At least that's not one of my problems. I have to say my husband can pretty much do anything I ask him to, and when he can't he knows the right people to call.

You see these hands...these are his hands and what they look like after two weeks of vacation.



It only takes a day at the shop for them to get back to the dirty, grimy beaten-up look. When we close the shop down I don't put a "gone fishing" sign in the window...I put this pic of my husband's hands with a "Cya!"

You see the underside of this car...this is what a Cadillac without an engine looks like.



This is the engine...



I have no idea how he does it, but my husband removes engines, tears them down, rebuilds them and then puts them back in.



The man who can't remember where he put his keys down, or to pick up a loaf of bread from the store, somehow remembers where every nut, bolt, belt and whatever else is part of the immense job, goes. He does it in 100 degree heat in an unairconditioned, and ceiling-leaking shop, in between inspections, a million other repairs, taking calls from annoying telemarketers and arrogant customers.

He pretty much can do whatever is set before him. Sometimes it takes a little longer with his arthritic hands and football injuries, but one thing's for sure -- it will be done right. When he drags in, worn-out sometimes after a fourteen hour day, working through the weekends, I feel for him. I wish I could help out more at the shop, but he tells me it's a good thing I'm not at the shop much since I don't have the "people skills" he has when it comes to obnoxious customers. Knowing what's involved and how hard he's working, I want to throw them out when they remark something stupid like, "It's not done yet." He doesn't. He swallows and shows them what's involved and asks them, "You want it done fast, or you want it done right?" They keep coming back so I guess they know the right answer to say.

What with surgeries and this summer's blistering heat, the one week he had off in the beginning of the summer was really not enough of a break, and now summer for all practical purposes, is over. When the kids get settled back in school I think he and I should sneak away for a weekend. He deserves it. Any suggestions within a couple of hours from Roanoke? I want to surprise him and try to get his hands clean again...