Sonia Marsh - Gutsy Living

Life's too short to play it safe

“My Gutsy Story” by Teresa Wendel

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 “Not too many women drive cars like this,” my husband Kurt noted as I admired the vehicle from a distance.

The classic ’68 Nova with a hand-lettered “For Sale” sign in the window sported a custom paint job. It came equipped with wide tires and shiny wheels. Sidling up to the car, I opened the driver’s door. The interior was upholstered in slippery black vinyl. It had a new headliner. I slid into the driver’s seat, ran my hand across the dash, and fingered the radio dial. There aren’t many gadgets on the dashboard of a ’68 Nova, and I liked that. Cruise control makes me feel out-of-control. So do windshield wipers with three different speeds. Ditto for warning lights that start flashing when any little thing goes wrong. Buttons and switches make me nervous.

Teresa Wendel's Supernova

Kurt opened the passenger door and took a seat. Feigning indifference but barely hiding his excitement nonetheless, he reached into the glove box and handed me the title. That brawny car belonged to me! I immediately turned the key, clicked on the blinker, and merged into traffic. Four smoking tires left skid marks across the intersection when I gunned the engine and popped the clutch after stalling at the light. Despite that humiliation, the Nova gave me a feeling of complete emancipation. I quickly scanned the street ahead for law enforcement, then exceeded the speed limit for the first time in my life.

*     *     *

The Nova had been in my possession for less than a week when I grazed the garbage can in our driveway and broke the driver’s side mirror. As the tinkle of broken glass assailed my eardrums, I beat my fists on the steering wheel. It wasn’t the damage to my exquisite car that had provoked such anguish. It was the broken mirror that made me moan. At my age, I didn’t need seven years of bad luck.

Hoping to avoid further mishaps, I drove with exaggerated caution along untrafficked back streets and alleys when I headed out to the auto parts store. Despite my safe arrival, I pushed open the door with shaking hands. As I entered the daunting domain of male mechanics, the manly aroma of car care products, gadgets, and tools tickled my nose. Although totally out of my realm, I commenced to cruise the aisles.

When a clerk at last approached me, I bewailed the events of my ill-omened day and bemoaned the adverse vibes provoked by my broken side mirror. “Do you suppose those seven years of bad luck will be revoked once the car mirror’s fixed?” I asked.

He looked at me through his grimy eyeglasses. “Lady, I’m a parts clerk–not a fortuneteller.” After glancing out the window and surveying my pretty car, he shook his head, plucked a mirror from a rack, and plunked it on the counter. He regarded the “designed for a woman” tool kit that I had snagged from a display near the till with disdain before passing it over the scanner.

The surly clerk’s attitude left me feeling like a car with four flat tires. When he slammed the till’s drawer closed with a flick of a grease-smudged thumb, I snatched up my bag and hurried out the door.

*     *     *

I stared at the side mirror for three days before I opened the box that enclosed it. The instructions, printed in “male-speak,” left me muddled and confused. Still, the feminine tool kit that I had purchased begged to be handled. The grips on the screwdrivers, wrenches, and pliers were pastel pink.

Pulling on a pair of Kurt’s dirty coveralls to give me inspiration, I jabbed and poked at the broken mirror with a screwdriver for an hour before successfully removing it and fastening on the new one. As long as I was at it, I detached a door panel and tinkered with a sticky latch. I even figured out how to open the hood. Mindful that metal parts and wires had the potential to jolt me, I cautiously pulled out the dipstick. The oil was low, so I added a quart. That simple act gave me a feeling of pride. In all the years that I had driven, I’d never once had the courage to check the fluids in the family car.

Feeling cocky and reckless, I smudged a dab of grease across my left cheek to give me credibility, finger-combed my hair, applied a fresh layer of lipstick, then roared down to the library to check out a book on car repair. The bulky manual weighed at least five hundred pounds. I tucked it under my arm and staggered to the check-out counter.

By the time Kurt had arrived home from work some hours later, I had replaced a few cracked hoses and cleaned up the battery cables. Owning a vehicle is so empowering! I wiped the grease off my cheek with a grimy shop rag before giving my man a hug.

“Not bad for a woman who won’t push the buttons on a tv clicker, use a cell phone, or connect to the Internet,” Kurt acknowledged after I detailed the events of my day.

“You better watch out, buster. I’m just getting started.” I patted the hood of my ’68 Nova, then polished off a grease mark with the cuff of my coveralls. “This car’s getting a brake job tomorrow.”

Kurt raised his eyebrows skeptically, but I gave him a wicked smile.

“Haven’t you heard that a woman doesn’t reach her mechanical peak until she’s over forty?”

 ***

Teresa Wendel Bio:

Teresa Wendel’s essays and short stories have appeared in national, regional, and local magazines and newspapers. Her collection of 44 interconnected humor essays, Belly Button Blues—Reflections, is now available at amazon.com. She lives in Wenatchee, Washington with her husband Kurt. Follow Teresa on her website:  www.bellybuttonblues.wordpress.com and like her Bellybuttonblues page. You can also join her on LinkedIn.

 

Sonia Says:

This proves that with passion, you can accomplish whatever you’ve set your mind to overcome. I enjoyed your story and admire women who can fix things, whether at home, or with their car. As you said yourself, “Not bad for a woman who won’t push the buttons on a tv clicker, use a cell phone, or connect to the Internet.”

 ***

If you haven’t already, please VOTE for your favorite April 2012, “My Gutsy Story.” There are 5 wonderful stories and you can vote here. The winner will be announced on Thursday May 17th, from Paris, where I shall be in a few days.

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Comments

  1. Sonia Marsh says

    Thanks Teresa for sharing this story with us. I do admire you for learning how to repair your Classic’68 Nova. Now if only I could fix the brakes on my 2007 Kia Rio myself.

    • Teresa Cleveland Wendel says

      I don’t think it’s as easy to work on a newer car. Everything’s packed in so tight, there’s nowhere to put your hands.
      Thanks for letting me share my story on your lovely website, Sonia. Have a great time in Paris.
      Teresa Cleveland Wendel recently posted..Gutsy WomenMy Profile

      • Sonia Marsh says

        See, you know more about cars than I do. Perhaps you need to call the car guys on NPR and surprise them with your knowledge.

  2. Doreen Cox says

    ‘You are woman..I hear you roar!’ Who knew that a ’68 Supernova could inspire someone to move out of a comfort zone!! Your story is inspiring, Teresa..Kudos for ‘taking the bull by its horns’ (as my mother had often said) and becoming a self-taught auto mechanic. Still shaking my head in wonder 🙂

  3. lupercio Rangel says

    Teresa, you should see my face ….smiling to no end !…reading your story !…a writer, swimer a self-taught automobile mechanic !… what ells ?

    • Jack Dostal says

      Are you the Lupe Rangel that used to own Foreign Car Service in Las Vegas, Nevada?

    • Jack Dostal says

      Are you the Lupe Rangel that used to own Foreign Car Service in Las Vegas, Nevada?

  6. Fred Koenig says

    Thanks for sharing a great story Teresa. You’re more mechanically inclined than me, however I suppose that’s not saying much. Anyway, I can just visualize you laying some patches in your Nova. Reminds me of the 72′ Heavy Chevy (SS) that I used to have. Best car I ever had.

    • Teresa Cleveland Wendel says

      Hey Fred–I don’t think anyone will feel as much nostalgia for the 2012 cars as we feel about anything older than a 75.

      To those who don’t know Fred, he’s my oldest buddy and a main character in Belly Button Blues.
      Teresa Cleveland Wendel recently posted..Gutsy WomenMy Profile

  7. Dhyan says

    I just love coming back to this site because of the gutsy stories you always provide us here Sonia.. Thanks!
    Dhyan recently posted..aerials essexMy Profile

  8. Judy Kimball says

    I agree with Doreen (you took the bull by the horn!), and yes you are such an inspiration Teresa; never ceasing to learn something new in life! Your story reminds me of a friend who needed brakes on her old Toyota…couldn’t afford to take it the shop, so she studied the manual, figured it out, completed the deed (no garage and it was cold outside) meanwhile, while her dirt bag husband watched a football game inside!

  12. Cyprian says

    You did a great job in your car. Love it. I really love your crazy story I hope you will have another story like this.
    Cyprian recently posted..Skin care organicMy Profile

  17. Carol D. says

    You should open a mechanics course for ladies! If I lived nearer I would definitely sign in and attend. Thanks for showing us how much we could learn to do, with the necessary guts of course…

  19. Boby Miller says

    Love your awesome story !
    Surprises make your life important and good. You did a good Job. Thanks for sharing and more success !
    Boby Miller recently posted..Sort Oil ETFs ListMy Profile

  22. steve says

    sorry but i had a hard time reading your story after you “fingered” the radio and how the hell did you get ALL 4 tires to smoke ? i also have a 68 nova i built from the ground up …. you can only get 1 or both rear tires to “smoke” how much did it cost to have a real mechanic fix your car when you were done with it???

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