First Movie: "Check Your Oil"

Jesse and Cally are back in New England, at Cally's parents' home in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  But. their trip took a bit longer than planned, and they arrived in a U-Haul truck, towing their car.

As they were going to be staying in Colorado for a bit over a full month, they'd driven the 2000+ miles out west from Vermont in their Suburu Impresa.  Bought used a couple of years ago, it has been a reliable car for them.  But, it lost power and they had to pull off the road as they were passing north of Fort Wayne, Indiana, on I-80/90, on their way home.  (See Jesse's video, above.)  The first suspicion was a broken timing belt.  But Jesse said he had replaced that belt less than a year ago.  They found a shop in Fort Wayne that would diagnose the problem on the weekend.  Ouch.  No oil in the crankcase, and hence a dead engine, for sure.

When I heard Jesse's sad lament, "Terminal stupidity, Dad.  I failed to check the oil," I had to smile.  Jesse (and all our kids) have made numerous road trips with their motorhead father, in cars and on bikes.  If they've learned anything by example, it is that checking the oil at every gasoline stop is a religious ritual.  That is one of the ways I have kept my motley collection of old iron running so well.