Friday, January 08, 2010

Once upon a time, in a car dealership far, far, away….


So it’s like this.

I’m at the Toyota Dealership to get the winter tires on – a huge joke as it’s been warmer than South Carolina here. Seriously. Every bit of good weather on the planet earth has been tucked away in our corner of Newfoundland, for like months now. We go around grinning at each other, exchanging daily reports of the weather elsewhere: did you hear about Roscommon, under two feet of snow? Arf-Arf. And Ontario ? My God, 30 below. Snorfle, snorfle. And now it’s hotter than Florida here, snort, guffaw. Guys are out running in SHORTS here.

So I mention a funny noise coming from the car to the service guy. A noise I enjoyed a lot as my little Toyota - Strawbella - makes out like she’s a big hairy Jeep. But knowing cops and their sensitivity to this kind of thing, I thought I’d better get it checked.

Oh, exhaust pipe and gaskets and bolties, oh my? OK I tell him, go ahead with the extra work.

Then I’m paged again.

Oh, we don’t like the look of your brake pads at all, actually you don’t have brake pads to look at? Well, l think, with over 130,000k on her, baby should have herself a new pair of shoes. OK, I tell him, go ahead.

This all takes hours. I read, I knit, I stretch, I scratch myself, I play with lipstick in the bathroom, I drink some miserable masquerade of faux java and frown at the Timbits ™ in the nice glass container. I feel like a loser. Those with lives are taking the courtesy shuffle to all sorts of destinations around the city. Me, with no life, I’ve nowhere to go, no one to see, nothing to do. Just wait around 4 hours longer than I’d planned for my car to emerge.

Now the waiting room is down to 2 losers. Me and a woman of my age who looks oddly familiar. It comes to me. She looks amazingly like my dear treasured friend who recently died. Only 30 years younger.

I put down the book and say, in the manner in which all Newfoundlanders are speaking in this yucking it up way these days: Sunscreen weather, ha?

She chortles obligingly and says, my god where are you from?

Cork, I say, astonished – and so are you?

Yes, she sez, from East Cork originally.

Go on! sez I, me too! and where did you go to school?

St. Al’s, sez she.

I faint dead away.

Two Old Girls from the same Cork, Ireland, Secondary School, in a Toyota dealership waiting room. In St. John’s, Newfoundland.

And yes, we’re getting together for lunch soon.

You can’t make this stuff up!

13 comments:

  1. What an amazing coincidence! And a brand new friend! All because the car was making a strange noise. Life is full of surprises.

    The weather is getting worse in Belfast. Sub-zero temperatures at night and often during the day. Jenny's been working at home most of the week. Oldies who can't afford proper heating must be in dire straits.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The world is a small place after all. I've happened onto people from home in some strange places, but not a repair shop, yet.
    Hope you've made a lovely friend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Our snow finally started a little today, Nick. Noty even an inch so far. Normally we'd be blanketed with a foot or so. Strange weather indeed.
    good for Jenny working at home!
    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brighid:
    She's arranging a lunch with some more Irish ex-pats so it should be fun. I can hardly wait!
    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
  5. You mean you don't speak like a Newfoundlander yet? Or do all Newfoundlanders sound like they come from East Cork? What do they sound like?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh they're are fragile lines of distinction, my dear GSW, detectable only to the finely tuned hearing of both Newfoundlanders and Irish.
    Seriously.
    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
  7. So you've got our mild weather (and winter tyres) WWW! Ok, you've had your fun - give them back now. Now, I say!

    As for that bloody car of mine it's wearing more expensive shoes than I am!

    I'm damned if I'm giving it a name as well - it'll be demanding a whole wardrobe next! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh Laura, be kinder to the poor little pet of a thing.
    And what's exactly wrong with a car-bra then?
    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow! Amazing coincidence - or synchronicity - or something!
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fascinating stuff! Enjoy the lunch, the chat and craic!

    ReplyDelete
  11. T:
    Like Horatio said, "more things in heaven and earth," etc. Goosebumps. Definitely.
    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
  12. GM:
    I can hardly wait, it still seems surreal!
    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sure, I'm beginning to believe Newfoundland is more Irish than Ireland!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome. Anonymous comments will be deleted unread.

Email me at wisewebwomanatgmaildotcom if you're having trouble.