Worked today, second Saturday in a row. I’m tiling a shower stall out in my old working grounds way out back of the mountain range, over an hour away. So this morning, bright and early, on one seriously country road I come across one of the rarest sights in these parts of the mountains….two black men. Two black men who’s beat to shit Mercury was blocking said country road as they tried to push the beast off to the side. Well I did my goody two shoes act and stopped to ask…….
“You guys need some help?”
”Sho do, we done run out a gas” said the younger of the two, a Marine vet of about 60 yrs old. “Can ya hep me get it over to the side? Me an you kin push an let the old man steer” Now the old man was in his very late 70s with full beard, thick black glasses and the look of a man who’d never seen a city in his life. The younger first had to issue instructions before allowing him to get behind the wheel.
Well we start to push, and I mean really push, I mean push till veins were popping out of temples black and white….I just can’t believe this car is this heavy and I finaly say
” Give it up man, we can’t push this bitch, how about we go backwards and park it on the grass the other side of that driveway”.
” Oh no man, that’s too far to push and the old man ain’t never drove a vehicle before, cain’t trust him……please, lets try again.” and so instead of trying to explian the fact that backwards was down hill and he could drive and nobody would have to push I put my back into it again and after a full minute all veins in all temples were bulging and all races, black and white, were purple when he says…. ” Ah gotsta check on sumpin” and heads for the drivers door loudly asking something about the possibility of the bitch being in park, and when he gets there he says……..
” Why you gotcho feet on the break man??!?” to which the old man explained his fear of the friggn thing rolling backwards.
” Theres a gas station four miles ahead” I said, “Need a lift ?… better take it because the bus is leaving now”
And so we left the old man with the Mercury with its left rear quarter out in the road and four miles later I dropped the guy off with his Prestone container he was gonna use to carry gas back with. 7:30 a.m. and it had already been a long morning
