Someone to Watch Over Me

It was supposed to be easy. Grab the set of extra keys to Ted's truck, drive to the high school, leave my car and take his truck to pick up the night stand I bought yesterday.

The truck started up quickly as usual. The problem came when I pulled out on the highway and the steering wheel swung sharply to the right. It was an effort to keep the wheels headed in a straight line forward. The brake light was on but then I knew it needed the front brake pads replaced so this didn't surprise me.

Making my way across town and finally to my destination, with the help of the store clerk, we loaded the night stand onto the blanket in the bed of the truck and  I headed home.

I've suddenly lost all interest in the night stand. I want to know what is wrong with this truck. Quickly the neighbor and I unloaded the furniture. Making my way back to the carport and the truck, I grabbed a tire gauge and started checking the tire pressure. 20 psi low on each tire!

My handy little compressor was in the back of the roadster. I hooked it up and counted to 500 while the tire aired up and moved it around to all the tires to plump them up a bit.

While the air was being refreshed, I checked the fluids. Oil was low, no fluid in the windshield wiper container and as expected, the brake fluid was low.

Tomorrow my day is planned. I'll change the brakes on the truck, add some oil and have the front end aligned. I ordered a mirror for the driver's door. Don't ask. Suffice it to say, the mirror was a casualty of a close encounter with another moving object.  The left door mirror connected with a mail box. The truck needs a little TLC and the grandson needs a lesson in car care.

Initially I was aghast at the condition of this lovely truck I had purchased for him a year ago. I had to scroll back through the years to when I was a new young driver.

Did I really care if there was tread on my tires, water in the radiator or fluid in the reservoirs? Not on your life. If it started up and rolled forward I was happy. Safety issues never crossed my mind and it would have been a useless issue. I didn't have money to make sure that car had adequate tread on the tires. Tread? P..shaw! I was only interested in what the read out was on the gas gauge and that is much like the grandson.

One day and hopefully he lives that long, he will check the tires and demand that the windshield wipers function. Safety will become an issue to attend to but until he gets to that age, I'll watch over the truck a little longer and keep his guardian angel company.

About the time you thought you could relax because your child was grown, along come the grandchildren and the worrying starts all over again.

Is there no rest? Parenthood might be way overrated!

I'm off to bed. Carrie is spending the night and  will need to be  shepherded to school tomorrow.