It'd been some days since we'd talked. Busy with family -- and our relationship still closeted, with them, anyway -- she hadn't been able to "get away." We chatted, happy to once again be in each other's company.
Afterward, slipping the clutch to resume the journay, I recognized the telltale thump of a flat.
The spare has an interesting device that came with the car. It's a lock that twirls on a specially-designed lug. But I couldn't find the key! Finally, I decided I'd lost it and, using my new handy-dandy smartphone, looked up locksmiths. The one at the top of the list referred me to a guy in Eager, which, he said, was closer. I was, so I thought, many miles from a town...let alone, locksmith(s).
When I called Mr. Udall, thinking I was MILES (and HOURS) from help, I asked his opinion on the use of hammer & chisel. He assured me it would be a mistake; likely to make the job MUCH more difficult.
Taking time out from planting his back forty, he arrived in a 1998 Toyota Tacoma with 711,000 (another tenth and it'd be 712,000) miles on it. As luck would have it, I was less than five miles away. But it sure LOOKED remote.
Handing over my keys, he took the one for the ignition and showed how it fit into the lock. After some finessing, the lock slid off the lug.
As I stood in slack-jawed astonishment, he demonstrated how the opening for the key was double-sided, just like the ignition key. He analogized with sleuthing and how it's the details that often hold the answer. All yuh gotta do is NOTICE.
While admiring the skill and acumen, I made mental note (gotta remember this one!) to set aside time to document (and fulminate) the continuing deterioration of my memory. I was convinced I 'd lost the key.
He'd done a stint in Federal Enforcement, something with the FBI, and several other interesting kinds of jobs until he and his wife decided they wanted a smaller town. They'd moved to Springerville (1.6 miles from Eager) and he'd started as a handyman. One thing led to another and he now includes "locksmith" among many other skills.
He asked for $20.00. Taking my best umbrage, I indignantly refused. Fortunately, after only a brief arm-twisting, he agreed to $50.00. (Can you *believe* some people? $20.00!)
His secret? He uses synthetic oil and changes it every 10,000. To make it all the worse, he said it was the original clutch and brakes. This gave me REAL pause. How many people have the coordination to optimize the accessories like that? Amazing!
And the most entertaining flat I've had since the time we went to Nebraska in my hearse to harvest wild pot.
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