Bubble, Bubble, Toilet and Trouble

Last night, my toilet broke free from the flange. (Of course, this was the night when I had drunk two or three cans of Sun Drop, that delicious drink you used to only be able to get in western NY. The flushing mechanism on the toilet worked just fine – no leaking or stinking, but it just wasn’t safe to sit on. I thought about going to a motel for the night, but I was able to make do. I don’t know how the pioneers making their way up the Oregon Trail managed all of that squatting!!!

Today, I called A & A Mobile RV Service, located in nearby Plant City. Within an hour of my call, the nicest man came to fix the toilet. It took him the better part of an hour, but he got it done. He did drop a drill bit down into the tank while working on it, but was able to retrieve it with a handy little grabber like you see in all of those mail-order catalogs – not the big one, but one that opened up about 2 1/2 inches and allowed him to pick up the bit – it may even have been magnetized.

The total charge for repair was only the minimum of $130 for which I was very thankful. And I can’t tell you how happy I was not to have to pack up the camper and tow it over to Camping World.

My writing prompt today was: Write about a used car

The first car I ever had was a used car, a two-seater sports car called the NSU Prinz. I have no idea what year it was, but I bought it right after I got out of college and totaled it within a few months.

My friend and roommate from college Ginnie Harter and I drove down to Camden, NJ, to the wedding of a classmate of ours. On the way back, we stopped in a rest area along I-81 and had a short nap. It was very late and very dark. While we rested, the windows steamed up but I didn’t notice this until I started up. I was wiping the inside of the windshield when I must have steered the way I was wiping.

My little NSU Prinz was no match for the Cadillac I scraped the side of. My car was totaled and it was totally my fault. Neither Ginnie nor I nor those in the Caddy were injured, but I couldn’t drive the car. I had to call Mark, who drove down and towed us back.

I remember that car with fondness, even though, if I recall correctly, it was orange and white. Anyone who knows me will find that hard to believe. I must have acquired my aversion to orange and yellow sometime later in life.

Since those days, I’ve had a lot of used cars and I can only think of one that was not a good value. The only thing about used cars though is they don’t have that new car smell. Of course, the money difference more than makes up for that.

Until next time...