What kind of a world are we living in today? My daffodils and tulips came up out of the ground in January and the rhubarb leaves are unfolding! On Sunday, Feb. 9, I felt a little foolish mowing my lawn but the grass was already 6 inches high! Fall fertiliser really does work.
I hoped the neighbors wouldn’t think that the old duffer had finally lost his mind. I’ve already made the first planting of an entire packet of bush peas and two five-foot rows of telephone peas. It’s reassuring to know that we still have radio talk show hosts informing us that increasing temperatures are only Democrat propaganda and nothing to get concerned about.
A change in topic is in order here. There are — and always will be — those among us whose desire is to make our communities bigger and therefore — through their own calculations — better. They ignore the fact that, when they succeed, traffic jams on Harrison Avenue in Centralia and Market Boulevard in Chehalis will do nothing but increase. And that crime will likely increase by a larger percentage than the growth in population. Many of these people are often, I suspect, civic boosters who have already picked out a place where they can get away from it all.
But, once in a while, this ancient curmudgeon finds examples of small-town living that bring a smile to his wrinkled old face and a warm feeling in the part of his chest which is kept operating by his second pacemaker.
The most recent candidate for my kudos — and not for the first time, either — is an unassuming business on South Tower Avenue known as “The Muffler Man.”
Daryl, and I won’t even mention his last name, has made a success of his operation by being — in my mind, at least — honest and sympathetic and willing to go an extra mile when needed. Even though his specialty is, of course, mufflers, he replaced front and rear shock absorbers on my small pickup truck for much less than others were quoting. When there was still a rattling sound in my truck, I suspected that possibly one of the replacements was coming loose. Daryl found the cause: a missing bolt, holding the front bumper onto the vehicle’s frame.
He ordered the special bolt needed and, I suspect, only charged me for the cost of the bolt. When I made a mess of trying to replace a large light bulb assembly recently, I took it to Daryl and he not only corrected my botched-up efforts, he just shook his head “no” when I pulled out my checkbook. It’s downright heart-warming when you realize that there are still those who believe in being what seems to be disappearing year by year — a good neighbor!
I don’t think the new headlight displayed any more brilliance than the smaller bulbs that, in our past, were so simple to replace. They do last longer, though, and I suppose that should be comforting. But I don’t have to like it! I long for the olden times when life — and automotive mechanisms — were both simple. I don’t know when or why things had to get so complicated, do you? Couldn’t they (the builders of modern vehicles) have made the automobile components more durable instead of more complicated? I used to be able to change a carburetor or fuel pump or a clutch or piston rings with ordinary tools. I recently had to pay more than my faithful little pickup would bring on the market just to replace a fuel pump.
And so the world turns, even though it may be missing some parts.
•••
Bill Moeller is a former entertainer, mayor, bookstore owner, city council member, paratrooper and pilot living in Centralia. He can be reached at bookmaven321@comcast.net.
