Under Jeremy's Hood

During the summer before my senior year of high school, I took an Auto Mechanics class. It was taught by one of the cutest teachers (at least I thought) at Redondo Union High School, Russ Parkinson. I'm not sure I had any real interest in learning about cars...my dad was a car mechanic par excellence, and any automobile I would ever own would be impeccably maintained by him. I would never need to get any oil on my hands.

My good friend and partner in crime, Pat Garrison (otherwise known now as Trish Sipek) and I sacrificed our summer mornings to oil changes, gapping spark plugs, changing tires, jumping batteries, checking and replacing fluids, repairing windshield wipers, taking carburetors apart and putting them back together, and replacing mufflers...I hated that the solvent we used to get the grease off of our hands took off my fingernail polish and I whined incessantly that my claustrophobia should preclude me from having to scoot underneath the car on my back. Trish and I were the only girls in the class and there was no way we were going to be given any special treatment.

We thought we were just indulging our infatuation with Mr. Parkinson, but in reality, we were becoming a force to be reckoned with in the world of auto repair. Later when we both owned cards, we could talk shop with most of the guys that we hung out with and when our cars needed mechanical attention, we could not be bamboozled into spending money on things that weren't necessary. And we didn't pay the outrageous hourly rate charged by most mechanics, because we knew all the right people in all the right places who would work on our cars for free or inexpensively because we knew their lingo.

The time came for me to pass the mantle to my daughter Lexie, who recently took a 9 month course in Auto Maintenance. Now she understand how her car works and can car talk with the best of them. I know that if she breaks down somewhere, she won't panic, and if she needs to, she can change her tire and jump start her car when her battery dies.

I have always loved all things mechanical. I love the underside of cars with all the hoses and wires. I have read and re-read the manual that goes with my car and love to try to diagnose my car troubles before my mechanic does.

So, I say thank you to Russ Parkinson, who made me cut my perfectly polished fingernails and who helped me overcome my fear of being on my back underneath a car, and ultimately taught me that there is true beauty underneath the hood of a car.