Thelma Update:

ed. note: blah blah blah boring car stuff - except to keith

I dropped in again today at my mechanic's shop. My main man wasn't there, but Renaldo (#2 guy) was and he told me that unfortunately, the carburetor did not arrive from CarQuest as expected. After a slightly heated exchange regarding what I was told yesterday, a few things came to light...

1) They received the wrong carb... twice. The third and hopefully final rebuilt carb will arrive on Tuesday. CarQuest fucked up not my guys, supposedly, we'll see.

2) Renaldo accidently let it slip that the keys were STOLEN, not lost - big difference guys. After inspecting the contents of the vehicle, nothing appeared to be missing - except the carb, Ha!

3) And most importantly, I WILL be adequately compensated for my patience... Damn right I will.

I really don't have a lot of choice in the matter. The car is sitting there without a carburetor, so obviously she's not going anywhere. I could tow it to another shop or back to the house and do it myself, but at this point, we just need a damn carb - and I'm thinking it will happen sooner with these guys.

I do honestly believe them, except for the stolen vs. lost keys part - that really pisses me off. And I let them know that in no uncertain terms.

Of course this all means that I am going to have to find a way to be suave in the old Jeep as opposed to a '68 lime green convertible, but suave is as suave does... I'll make it work. I'm guessing I'll have to leave the cowboy hat at home though...