Tag: wrenching

Misty Mountain

DIARY


Friday morning, and for a late February day it’s already much warmer than it ought to be. Highs today and through the weekend will climb into the 70s. The roses are budding, the bulbs are pushing shoots out of the ground, and spring is threatening. It’s too early–we’re at least a couple of weeks ahead of schedule, if not more, and a cold snap could bring a lot of heartache. March snow is a real thing in North Carolina, even if we’re all but sunbathing ten days after Valentine’s.

Kelly is in Las Vegas for a meat-up, and yesterday and today I’ve woken up early to play varsity parent. There’s a lot to do on a regular school day: breakfasts, lunches, puppies, hair, packing, drop-off. The kids are very helpful. This morning I put in Annie’s earring after I accidentally tugged it out while brushing her hair. It occurred to me I’d never once poked an earring through her ear. She was a good sport about it.

Not only am I parenting solo, but Kel’s minivan went into the shop this week to get a nose job (read: new bumper to replace the one that got a hole in it when she got into a bump-up almost a year ago in Hickory). While the minivan was in Franklin for repairs, Kel was driving my car, and I’ve been driving Woodrow the Wagoneer.

Fog Lights


After ordering a new switch from BJ’s Offroad (a useful and well-stocked supplier of FSJ parts and accessories in Washington), Carl and I went back to work on the fog lights in the carport this evening. Carl had come up with the electrical wiring diagram for the headlights to compare. Using his meter, we confirmed we had power to the switch at the harness (but the old switch didn’t work, hence the new one), and we knew the lights themselves had good wiring.

Still, even with the new switch in place, we had no fog lights. That left the relay that sat between them to test. Carl popped it off, reading he schematic printed on the side as if he were an archaeologist interpreting an ancient rune. After figuring out which of the five prong was which (and consulting the wiring diagram printout), he went back to work with the ohm meter, confirming the relay worked–in theory.

Mrs. Wooten’s Wagoneer

The Jeep Grand Wagoneer’s design virtually never changed, making it one of the few automobiles that connected entire generations of people.


Kelly and I had long since fallen in love with the classic lines of the Grand Wagoneer. The legacy of the car is renowned; many credit the Wagoneer for inspiring the concept of a luxury SUV. It competed with Range Rovers because it offered finer appointments to a truck-based platform more often associated with rugged austerity. Wagoneers were a staple of WASP culture, the preppy automobile of choice for lawyers and doctors and their private school kids.

These days, the cars are symbols of a vintage culture that floats further and further away. Put a Christmas tree on the roof rack and a wreath on the front grill, and you have enough Lands End kitsch that you can probably leave the kids out of your holiday card photo. I’ve always wondered about who drives these things and what kinds of lifestyles they might lead.

So when we spotted a Grand Wagoneer around town, it was interesting to see not just the car but who was behind the wheel.

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