Re: The Commute From Hell!

[Tom Harais <tjhemh@domain.elided>]

Curt:

Interesting thought behind all this.

I too have had more than my share of breakdowns in the Scout. Usually
for something stupid, like my failure to reattach a hose properly when
working on it. It's embarrassing and frustrating and very simple to fix.
It only takes time, knowledge and a little skill. But, experience has
taught me something. The Scout, I can get that running with bubble gum
and bailing wire and get it home when I have too.

I can't say that about some other, newer cars I own. They haven't
stranded me, like the Scout has, but they didn't go almost 200,000 miles
without complaint either. And, when they did strand me, it wasn't
something that could be diagnosed and repaired roadside, like the Scout.
Scout parts are hard to find, but a heck of a lot cheaper than newer
cars. Have you priced a windshield for a Toyota lately? As much as a
monthly payment. Anything Scout has Scout II windshields for $125 or so,
and you can replace that yourself in a few hours.

My Honda is incredibly reliable, but fixing it takes a lot more
diagnosis and time than one can do roadside as you just did. And it is
much more sensitive and "picky" than the Scout about everything.

I had a boss once. She went out and bought a new Mercedes diesel. She
bragged about how she took it to the dealer every three months for P&M
work and never had any problems with it. She mentioned how it seemed to
her that people that worked on their own cars were always having
problems and always having to fix something. She was sure that "those
kinds of people" who worked on their own cars, were buying a false
economy by not having a "real pro" take care of it. It never dawned on
here that most people simply can't afford a Mercedes diesel, let alone
the Mercedes dealers high repair prices.

She spent $500/month on car payments and another $400 every three months
for services. To have any less than a perfectly reliable and trouble
free vehicle under those circumstances would be unthinkable. She was
buying her way out of having to worry about her personal transportation
or having to learn anything about autos (she only knew how to push the
accelerator and brake and turn the key - not even the difference between
compression ignition and spark ignition!) or having to be embarrassed by
having a break down in front of a line of cars.

She was also your typical, ignorant snob in my estimation. She and her
husband were making very high incomes but spending it all to "keep up
appearances". Plus, they never learned anything. They had no hobbies
they just worked and took annual trips to the Bahamas. They learned,
much too late, that they didn't even know their own daughter because of
all the hours each of them worked.

I have never earned enough to afford a Mercedes. And, I've chosen not to
buy any new car. I chose not to carry that high debt and have to worry
about money all the time. Yes my Scout breaks and yes, I fix it. More to
the point, I endure the consternation of everyone from friends to family
about driving "an old jalopy that breaks down" when, in their
estimation, I should just go out and buy a new car and take on car
payments like everyone else. They don't seem to understand the concepts
of depreciation, insurance and interest.

Nope, I don't have a new car. But, I have several hobbies, the Scout
included. I have learned about cars throughout my life and will continue
to do so as long as I live. I don't define myself by my job and I'm
never going to be a snob.

I can't for sure say that the way my old boss lives is wrong - not for
the purposes of the discussion here (I am a financial person by trade
and could easily tell you about how high income people are not the same
as  wealthy people but they think they are. And lots of people that seem
to be "low income" to those around them, are accumulating a lot of
wealth by not conspicuously spending what they earn and investing it
instead.) As well as I can't for sure say that the way I live is right.
But, I know I wouldn't trade places with that old boss. Not if I have to
give up the knowledge and sense of well being I have accumulated over
time.

A friend of mine, who has a Ph.D. and is pretty well off, once lived
with me in return for helping me erect a retaining wall and fencing at
my new home. My new neighbors were all paying someone to put their
fences up saying they didn't have the skills, strength or time to do it
themselves. My friend commented on how sad it was that so many middle
class people lacked rudimentary labor skills such as putting up a fence.
As he pointed out, what were those people going to do at the slightest
emergency? If we had an earthquake (which we did in '89 called Loma
Prieta) they were going to be totally lost when they couldn't just dial
up help on their cell phones and they had to figure out how to survive
the emergency all on their own.

Another way of making that point was best said by Hank William's, Jr. in
his "Country Boy Can Survive" song. So what if one can buy their way out
of having to deal with any sort of manual problem. They lack the basic
skills to feed, cloth and generally take care of themselves. They are
totally lost in a simple emergency.

Maybe that's why they buy a new car every three years and turn their
noses up at us if we break down. Underneath it all, they know that they
wouldn't know what to do if their car broke down and that scares the
hell out of them. They know we do know what to do and that embarrasses
them. Hence, they look down on us and try to make themselves feel
better.

I guess knowledge is power.

Tom H.