May 13: The Brake Light

Many years ago, I went though a brief period during which I adopted the routine of changing the oil in my vehicle myself. The theory was that I would be saving the $20+ that was required to invest in such a service through the dealership or any of those "drive-thru" locations (thinking Uncle Ed's here). The reality was that it was a passing phase, as after a few changes over 6 months I realized time and convenience were much more valuable commodities than the $20 I had to invest to have someone else do the dirty work. So ended the oil change commitment. But, for a short while there, I really felt proud of my accomplishment. Like I was ready to quit my job and dedicate my mad skills to the nearest auto center. Heck, if I could change my oil without a hitch, why couldn't I rebuild an engine just as easily? Unfortunately, shortly after that, I had a misadventure with some wiper blades, quickly falling back to Earth and realizing I was never going to make a living out of working on cars, as, in all honesty, I'm really not a "car guy" nor do I know the first thing about their make up. I drive them, and that's about where the infatuation ends. So, you can imagine the dread I felt when I realized one of my tail light bulbs had burned out and needed replacing. It was going to be the wiper blade incident all over again...at least in my mind. Of course, the owner's manual makes it look easy - a few screws, pop out the old one, drop in the new one and you're done. Owner manuals...hmph! So, this morning after dropping the kids off at school, I stopped by the Auto Zone and got the bulbs I needed for this replacement job. Upon arriving home, I closed the garage door behind me (mostly to save myself the embarrassment should I not be able to re-assemble what I've disassembled during the bulb replacement process), threw all caution to the wind and began removing the parts required for an operation of this magnitude. Amazingly, this was the first time I had ever replaced a tail light bulb, and, even more amazingly, it was a snap! In fact, I was so pleased with my work that I replaced the other tail light bulb, as well; even though it was functioning perfectly already. Yes, boys, Michigan's own Smokey Yunick is back. Anyone need me to take a look under the hood?