5.05.2011

Engine Trouble

Since the lay off, I've been working on finding new work, of course. Updating resumes, scanning online sites, sending in apps with resumes attached, "etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." (You know, I remembered Yul Brenner saying this, but I associated it with "The Ten Commandments," not the movie it is actually from, which I have not seen since I was a wee lad and probably have never seen it in its entirety. Hello, Netflix!)

In the meantime, the little Escort wagon has been sitting in the driveway a lot, going nowhere. I do have a part time job in the evening, but usually I drive the newer Chevy we have because Kathy is not going to be using it and, as a bonus, the Chevy has a heater that works. The Escort's blower has blown itself out, so there is no heat to speak of. I bought an alleged heater a while back that plugs into the cigarette lighter and sits on top of the dash, ominously, like a swollen radar detector. It is very effective when clearing the foggy windshield, if by 'very effective' you mean it will clear a spot to peer through that is roughly the size of a softball and is about six inches below your line of sight.

Today it was time to put some coolant in the Escort's radiator as the little light, that may or may not indicate coolant is needed, has been on. I gathered all the relevant items for just such a task, took them to the car, and popped the hood.

Now when a person opens the hood of the car, he generally knows what to expect. Usually one expects to greeted by a lot of metal and rubber in proportions required to put braces on George Washington on Mt. Rushmore.

Well, I saw some of this, but what really caught my eye was the microwave oven-sized wad of leaves packed into the spaces in and around where the coolant overflow reservoir is. And I also saw a neat semi-circle torn out of the insulation attached to the underside of the hood.

Our front yard is a squirrel paradise, judging by the number of them I see most days. And I guess the engine compartment of the stationary automobile was just perfect for a new squirrel dwelling, and construction was underway. However I determined that this new construction was not up to code and, besides, had violated numerous zoning ordinances. It had to go.

However, no squirrels were available for the job, so I had to tear it out myself.

No comments: