I was catching up with an acquaintance the other day, in particular, asking about car problems she had been having. Excitedly, she said, "I got the major repairs done, and now for the first time in months, my check engine light is not on!".
Since we were in church, and I so often am inspired in church, I made a mental note:
Good title for sermon: Is your check engine light on?
We all keep lists of words and phrases right? My longest list is "good names for a band".
But back to the check engine light thing.
It's a great code because it says so much while saying so little.
Just like a Check Engine Light (from now on let's say even less: CEL).
What does it mean when when it suddenly comes on? Well, nobody knows, but it's how we react that tells the real tale. Let's face it; it could mean anything from:
We want you to come in to pay us money to Your engine is about to blow up.
If a personal check engine light comes on, what might it be?
Well, I read an interesting article this week on the subject of "What is Health?" http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/health/views/28essa.html
Great subject. Used to be when you were sick, you saw a doctor. Now they want you in to test a ton of things to see if they can find something wrong. Is it me or is this like the car? I used to bring in the car for reason:
Since we were in church, and I so often am inspired in church, I made a mental note:
Good title for sermon: Is your check engine light on?
We all keep lists of words and phrases right? My longest list is "good names for a band".
But back to the check engine light thing.
It's a great code because it says so much while saying so little.
Just like a Check Engine Light (from now on let's say even less: CEL).
What does it mean when when it suddenly comes on? Well, nobody knows, but it's how we react that tells the real tale. Let's face it; it could mean anything from:
We want you to come in to pay us money to Your engine is about to blow up.
If a personal check engine light comes on, what might it be?
Well, I read an interesting article this week on the subject of "What is Health?" http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/health/views/28essa.html
Great subject. Used to be when you were sick, you saw a doctor. Now they want you in to test a ton of things to see if they can find something wrong. Is it me or is this like the car? I used to bring in the car for reason:
- it doesn't start
- It doesn't stop
- It make screeching noises
You get the idea. Now it goes in when there is nothing actually wrong with it. I think it gets a massage and a manicure.
Here's another odd thing: it works this way with pets too. Oops, I mean animal companions.
Up until recently, my dogs annual medical bills were 6 times higher than my own. AND THEY ARE HEALTHY! Well, so am I.
I say healthy; one has Restless Leg Syndrome. There. I said it. Poor thing, she pretends she's scratching, but she's not fooling anyone. Don't laugh, my last dog died of it. Well, that and heart disease.
What were we talking about? Oh yes, your CEL. (5 points if you remember what that means).
Wouldn't Restless Leg Syndrome be a great name for a band?
Yes, the CEL is on both of our vehicles. The one is a Jeep Cherokee & we know why it's there & we choose to ignore it. Our Saturn has an appointment with the doctor, er, repair shop, on Tuesday. But, really, I'm costing more than our cars are this year. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI like to read about your thinking process, Bil. I wish I had written stuff like this when I was your age. I would have a book of essays by now. and when my engine light would come on, I would sell the movie rights, and afford to get it checked. At the moment, though, I have a volume of excuses NOT to get it checked, and it often goes out by itself. One day it will not - and that's OK.....I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteBug; Ha! You can put some things off until you HAVE to deal with them.
ReplyDeleteC & K; not sure if you are talking about the car or your own CEL, either way, it works.