“It cannot be saved.” The mechanic stuck stained hands in blackened pockets of oily coveralls.
Shelly tilted his head in bewilderment.
“Perhaps a new suspension…” he chanced. “A bit of wax or paint job.” Shelly could not recall the last time that the car was operational, nor how to do a thing on its behalf, but surely all that the conveyance needed was an odd term or two and the tinkering of a sufficiently grimy man.
“The only suspension that can help this pile of rust,” the mechanic muttered, “will be one that suspends it en route to wrecking.”
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
Photo prompt © Fleur Lind
Na'ama Yehuda 
Good play on words. Great take.
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Thank you! 🙂
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A lost cause
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Indeed!
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😅
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🙂
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With all our favourite things, there comes a time when the old just have to be let go. End of use date has expired.
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So true. I’m not sure this is something he sees as a favorite … but he sure wants it to be fixed at no effort to him … 😉
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Wonderfully written, Na’ama. There are some hopeless cases out there 😉
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LOL! Exactly! And it ain’t always the car … 😉
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Hahahaha! Right!!
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Shelly comes with his own issues … LOL
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Uh huh…
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😀
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Afraid the mechanic is right. Too bad.
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Yep, I agree … 🙂 Thanks for reading and commenting!
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I feel for Shelly, but agree with the mechanic. Recently I’ve been going through mementos I inherited from my grandparents. My cousin wants them for her kids who are also interested in history. Hooray! I have no children so the goodies are going to a good home. Bye bye stuff.
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Yes, poor Shelly. He is also a bit clueless, perhaps, about what can and cannot be done and what can or cannot be expected. Glad that your cousin is happy to give a home to some of the mementos your grandparents left! Win-win!
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Sometimes you just have to bow to the inevitable.
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So true! Exactly! 🙂
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sadly, i trust his judgment.
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I do, too … 🙂
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Yes. There comes a time. I like what you’ve done with ‘suspend/suspension’ here. Clever. And I can relate to poor Shelly. We have a car that I fear is about to receive the same sentence. 😢
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Glad you ‘caught’ it! 🙂 And, yes … sometimes wishes aren’t practical, but that doesn’t make the wish itself a bad one. 🙂 My condolences for the poor car …
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Na’ama Y’karah,
This puts me in mind of when a mechanic informed me my precious Saturn was emitting the ‘death rattle’ and there were no parts available. I still mourn that car’s loss. I feel for Shelly.
At the same time I love your deliciously greasy description of the mechanic. I could almost smell the oil.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Ah, some cars do find a spot in our hearts, don’t they? Shelly will have to make do, and the mechanic will … well … step out of his coveralls at the end of the day, spacesuit-style … 😉
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I really like this turn of phrase:
all that the conveyance needed was an odd term or two and the tinkering of a sufficiently grimy man.
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Glad you liked! Shelly is a character with some … well … character … (not exactly tethered to the practical world, he is, me thinks…) 🙂
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🙂
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I love her definition of car maintenance. Fun story.
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Glad you enjoyed! 🙂 Thanks for reading and commenting!
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Isn’t it amazing how we grow so attached to “stuff” that we have such a hard time letting it go.
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Indeed! Just the other day I had to say goodbye to the drain pipe under my kitchen sink, the faucet, the other pipes, and the strainer (in four different plumber visits in two days). These have all been with me for many years … but they could not be saved, and my sink is apparently having a VERY hard time letting go of any of them without continued cyclical crying. The plumber will be back Monday morning for another sink-therapy session and hopefully we’ll achieve tentative harmony without seepage…
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Best of luck to you. Nothing worse than a weeping sink 🙂
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I know. Hopefully another session of plumber-therapy will do the trick. Otherwise, we’ll have to truly dig deep … 😉
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More fodder for the swap meet. 🙂
I have a brother-in-law who hauls them home and works for months (or longer) to rehab them.
It is another world I cannot understand.
Well told, Na’ama.
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Thanks, Bill! Ah, perhaps your brother-in-law is the sufficiently grimy man Shelly is seeking … 😉
I think it is admirable that some want to rehab relics – less junk in our landfills and a nice hobby for those who have the skill/interest/ability. But for the most part, yeah, more fodder for the scrap …
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I liked Shelly’s determination in wanting the car fixed and operational, and the naivete that it might just need some wax or paint made me smile. I got the sense that even though it hadn’t been running for a long time, that Shelly had some emotional connection to it. A very sweet and nicely told story.
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Yes, I think all of that is true about Shelly. And his naivete, too. 🙂 I think him rather bookish. 🙂
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Complete overcome on story
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