Living a life that Matters

Back in my college days I was pretty broke. My first part of college I drove an old pick-up truck. Then I bought a Honda CRX later into college. But I never had the money to do my own work on them. So I learned to work on cars. My dad showed me a few things. He used to race cars back in his days. So I saved a lot of money back in those days. Even worked on my girlfriend’s car. It was my way to impress her.

After I got married and the money came in from having a duel income, I worked less and less on cars. Then came a time I made pretty good money and didn’t touch a car for almost 10 years. I’ve had my current truck for almost 6 years. I’ve had to do very little work on it. I’ve been pretty lucky.

I’m driving to California in a few days. I shelled out a little cash for this trip in planning it. Then my brakes went out this week. Both front and back. I really didn’t feel like dumping a lot of money into my truck. So I made a decision to do the brakes myself. I live in an apartment, so I had to do my work at the church parking lot. My friend Ryan Axtell offered a helping hand.

We got the job done in a couple of hours and $50 later. So I saved the money and time. I guess I’m writing this because it felt good. There is a sense of accomplishment in working on cars. It makes you appreciate your vehicle more. Plus I relived the glory days of my youth when I had to rough it and learn to use my hands and brains to get by in life. I have dirty hands and gross fingernails and I’m proud of it.