Sittin’ Here La La…
ONE THING I’VE ALWAYS WANTED on a car was a Remote Starter so I could start the car and get it toasty warm and defrosted before I stepped outside. And that is what I’m doing today. I am down at the Toyota dealer getting the Remote Starter Gizmo installed. I’m a happy boy.
Of course, this job is a little more complicated than having new wiper blades installed. So, here I sit in the “Customer Waiting Area” drinking too much coffee while the car is undergoing surgery.
Our friend and Toyota salesman, Bill, has been filling me in on the progress of the operation – including pictures. It is kind of like seeing photos of your Aunt Nellie’s appendectomy up close and personal. I have no idea what I’m looking at. It’s all car guts as far as I’m concerned.
He did bring me one progress report that I did find interesting. Under the hood the mechanic found a ton of acorns and nutshells. I’m not surprised. We have a large oak tree in the back yard as well as a population of squirrels closing in on a number qualifying them for representation in Congress. Aside from cutting down the tree, nuking the squirrels and cocooning the car in Saran Wrap every night, I don’t see that there is much I can do about it. As long as the little rodents have acorns to nibble on I don’t think that they’ll start chomping on the car itself.
Sitting here in the “Customer Waiting Area,” I can read, write, drink more coffee, loiter and eat from the vending machines while the mechanics do their automotive magic. Bill told me that, if I had been here a few days ago I could have dined at the hot food buffet that was set up for the customers. Honestly, I just never thought of the Toyota dealership as a primo dining destination. Having them get a Michelin review would be operating on multiple levels, wouldn’t it?
Now that I’m getting that Remote Starter thingy I’m almost looking forward to some cold and snowy weather just so I can try it out without feeling techno-geeky. You know what I’m talking about – people like the nerds who set up a remote camera aimed at the soda vending machine so they can keep tabs on the Mountain Dew supply.
I’ve posted a picture of where I have been waiting this morning – not bad. I am assuming the small room with the stuffed alligator is for kids. I was glared at when I went in and tried to get a better picture of it. Yup, it’s not a bad place to spend a few hours that I’ll never get back.
It is certainly better than the waiting area at the place I get my oil changed. That joint looks like a leftover from the firebombing of Dresden in World War Two. I can’t even imagine how and why the out of date magazines there have oil stains on the inside pages. But they change the oil, top off the washer fluid and don’t try to sell me a new air filter every time I come in there.
Update from Bill: They are reassembling the car and I should be able to visit it in the Recovery Room shortly. Too bad they don’t have a gift shop here. Some flowers or a pack of Lifesavers candy might be nice.
The more I think about it, I wish I could have been here for the buffet. Maybe next time, if I bring the car in for a tune-up or to get it spayed.
Down the Hall on Your Left 