Always Something

Before we left for Colorado, we cleaned the house well enough that when we returned we wouldn't feel like we were walking back into a sty. That is to say, we wanted to be able to step back into our daily routine here in New York with a minimum of fuss and angst.

Why are you laughing?

Maybe we should have been, too.

We arrived home to discover that the boiler wasn't working. All right, so it wasn't working when we left, but it's been tempermental. So we figured there was a good chance if we just wiggled some wires upon our return, we'd have hot water again.

Why are you laughing?

Fat chance, right? First thing on Wednesday morning I called a heating specialist to fix our boiler so we didn't have to take cold showers. Then I got in the Mazda to go to work.

Or at least that's what I intended to do. If you recall, our little old dependable Mazda has put us through some hoops recently. It turned out that its failure to start came from moisture making its way into the ignition system. Once our even-more-dependable mechanic solved that problem, the Mazda began starting reliably again. So when I got into her on Wednesday, she started up like clockwork.

But she wouldn't go anywhere. There I was, engine humming, foot on the accelerator, parking brake disengaged, and no movement. Not an inch. My first thought was that some practical joker had put blocks under the wheels while we were on vacation. So I checked under the wheels. Nothing.

Even with some serious pressure on the gas pedal, the car only creeped forward, and I could hear the distinct grind of tire tread on the driveway. For fear of damaging something, I let off the gas and called our trusty mechanic. He told me that with the wet weather we've been having (which we missed, being in Colorado), brakes have been rusting right to the drums.

Excuse me? Brakes rusting to the wheels?

Why are you laughing?

That's right. "Rock it back and forth with the accelerator," he said, "and it usually breaks free." Hah, no pun intended, right? So I did what he said--in fact, more than he said. I drove the Mazda out onto our road, dragging that right rear brake like an angry donkey the whole way. It never broke free.

On the next call to the mechanic, he asked what kind of wheels I had. "Are they aluminum?" That sounded expensive. No, I was pretty sure I saw rust on the wheels. "Then knock it with a hammer outside the lug nuts."

Whack my car with a hammer to break the brakes loose?

Stop laughing. It worked.

Thus the Mazda works fine, and after an expensive but worthwhile visit from the heating guy, we can have hot showers again. Now if we can just keep the water pressure from dying halfway through those hot showers. Sigh.

There's always something. Stay tuned.

~emrys