As long back as I remember, Wallace has always worked on his own car. Myself, I can take it or leave it. The changeover to the new Freon involved a couple of plugs, a new low-pressure valve and two o-rings. While I had the car apart, I tested the fittings and hoses. All are in acceptable condition. I also fixed the windshield sprinkler pumps while I had the air conditioner cover off. Oddly, the front air conditioner bracket was already converted, like somebody had stopped half-way through the process.Then I charged up the Freon. I’ve never done this before and I’m not sure what I’ve done. The needle on the gauge doesn’t stay still long enough to take a good reading. You see, while riding over last night for parts, I kept asking the mechanic what needed doing, since he was too clever to tell me how to do it. He bought one large and one small can of gas, so I put all of it in and we’ll see if anything explodes. It sure does blow cold air now, better than ever.
There was some cloud cover most of the morning and complete cloud all afternoon, making it a perfect day for working on that car. I did minor work on the bedroom. There is only one orientation a bed can fit in there, as the room is 7-1/2 feet wide and 11 feet long and requires a walkway front to back. Those dimensions don’t include the new closet. Mila may have found a place but I can’t make her any promises because of the situation. She needs an answer by Thursday or she has to move.
The overhead [light] in the kitchen was a retrofit, with the switch way over on the wrong wall. Brainiac here decides to install a pull-chain switch in the kitchen fixture. The light would not come on. Back and forth five times, I knew I’d done it right—but no light. Hey, Wallace, remember how in the old place you could hold the chain at just the right position and the light would come on? Sure enough, same thing here. The problem was the pull-chain toggle is a little worn. But no way am I taking that assembly apart a sixth time.
It is insect season, every year around this time the air fills up with millions of what look like tiny flies. They are worse than sand grit for getting into everything. When I got back from my bike ride I was coated with them. My advice to anyone planning to move to Florida is you should spend a least a month here first, anything between June and end of September.
The Hippie called about the open mic tonight, I said okay since I have to test drive the car anyway. He’s got another gig lined up, well, actually it is a party, not a gig. If he’s getting paid, he did not say. It is on July 4th at a condo association up in Pine Island, the community between Ft. Lauderdale and the eastern edge of the Everglades. That’s Friday, so I’ll have to set up at Jimbo’s on Thursday. Ah, I’ll work it out. (Turns out almost everyone else also thought it was Thursday.)
After nightfall, the mechanic came knocking on the door. The story is that he spent the night in jail and could not call me. The cause was riding his bicycle with no lights, but we all know they don’t arrest you for that. He was up to something else on his bicycle and how come he was not driving anyway. There is usually something unusual about that around here. Suspended license? Impounded vehicle? Either way, being unreliable is not a question of whose fault it is when you are late.
The test drive was a failure. The motor overheated in eight miles. I did a complete roadside examination and I think the radiator was not full enough from the reservoir. I arrived at Donovan’s to note that it seems there is no following. The musicians have tapered off and it was mostly just us tonight, although an excellent blues player with an old Ovation stood in for nearly an hour. The establishment has the right idea, hiring a gorgeous young barmaid with a dynamite body. Mind you, I’m a waitress man, not a barmaid man.
How was your Tuesday?
