As a teenager, most of the guys around me were into cars. My cousin Larry not only owned cool cars like his '56 and '58 Chevy, also a VW Bug, but, he could work on them, get under the hood and really dig in. He even had an old '32 Ford, stripped it down and re-built it. That was something.
My brother-in-law, Clyde Eddy, was locally known as "the best" mechanic in central Iowa. Not only did he work on cars for a living, but, at one time owned his own repair shop in Laurel and, also, at one time operated the Standard Oil station in town. (Where the Co-Op station in later years was on the west side of Main Street or Highway 14)
Being around these guys was intimidating. The best I could do to my '57 Chevy was have a four- barrel carb. put on and a glass pack muffler for that really cool sound. And, I didn't even do that myself. The best I could do was keep my hard-top beauty clean. When going to the big city of Marshalltown, I couldn't let them think I was this farm kid from Laurel!
Thinking that all I had to do to know everything about
cars, I had my big sister, Doris, pick up a mechanics manual on Chevrolets. She worked at the time at the Hawkeye Chevrolet Dealership in Newton, Iowa.
My logic was that if I read the manual from cover to cover, I would know "EVERYTHING" there was to know about cars and magically I would turn into an "automobile wizard."
It didn't work out as planned. All that knowledge on paper didn't just sink in. There is something to be said about "it's in the genes," heredity, and what have you. My conclusion was that I simply did not have whatever it takes concerning mechanics. That also includes working on computers and about anything to do with technology.
Some of us just like to drive the car, but, need a Clyde Eddy to keep it running. I would give anything to possess just a little of that "gift." But, a lot of people would not look forward to getting up in front of a large audience to give a speech! I guess it's a good thing we are not all the same.
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