INTO SUMMER... a busy time (Part 173e)

INTO SUMMER… a busy time (Part 173e)

There was a lot for me to do before leaving for the races. Cliffy and the crew would pick me up around 3pm so I had to hustle to get everything done that needed to be done. The first thing was the weekly trip to the landfill. In trying to be a good neighbor I’d mentioned to Junior that if they had anything out of the ordinary they needed to get rid of I’d take it away for them. I’d seen some old fashioned standing lamps next to the garage which is what prompted me to ask. He hadn’t responded so left it at that. I’d loaded my garbage into the station wagon and was about to leave when I saw him coming through the break in the hedge. He waved me down and jogged up to me. He asked if I had room for a few old cushions. His timing couldn’t have been worse but, I’d offered so told him to get in. We drove over to the house and up to the garage. While doing it I noticed that all the clothes that had been hung out the previous afternoon were still on the line and, of course, my eyes drifted to the panties.

The cushions were from a wicker set that his sister had bought at a yard sale. Junior told me that when she’d seen the set it only had one cushion on one of the seats. The owner had offered to deliver everything and that was what had made the deal. She never got to see the other cushions. After everything was delivered she discovered the cushions were full of mold. She went back to where she’d bought stuff and found the owner unwilling to give her her money back saying the sale was an “as is” sale. I commented that that wasn’t right and they should go go back as a group and demand that they at least get some money back but he told me it wasn’t worth it. If it had been me I’d would’ve gone back and made a stink about it. There were five seat cushions and there was plenty of room for them. Junior offered to go with me but I was going to stop at the garage to make sure everything was OK with the race car on my way back so told him I could handle it. As I was getting in to drove off he said he’d make it up to me. I told him it wasn’t necessary and that’s what neighbors were for.

The race car was all loaded up on the hauler when I got to the garage. I asked Cliffy if he’d had any luck on finding another carburetor and he said Freddy, one of the drivers who’d gone to Connecticut earlier in the season with us when we blew the Ford motor up, had told him he’d bring one to the races that night. His plan was to leave about a half hour earlier so we’d have time to make the change. That didn’t make the rest of my morning and early afternoon any easier.

By the time I got got the yard mowed and was ready to head for the church to mow its’ lawn it was mid morning. When I got there I found a few women working on the grounds. One of them was the one I called “the ‘other’ Elle. I hadn’t seen her in a while as she actually lived in North Carolina but would come back to check on her mother who was a parishioner. She’d been the one to institute the planting of flowers around the building and I’d helped her. One of the things I remembered about her was that I’d seen a pretty nice DP (down pants)when I’d worked along side her and hope that would happen again. I reintroduced myself and told her I’d give her and the other women plenty of room when mowing the lawn. She was around my age but the other two were definitely older. I knew where my eyes would be trained I made my way around the yard with the mower. I got what I was looking for but all I got was a quick glance what with me constantly moving around the yard. When I finished I went over to where she was working hoping to get a prolonged look but when she saw me headed her way she stood up. We chatted a bit and during the conversation she mentioned that she’d be spending the month with her mother. It was to do an evaluation of her to see if she could still safely live by herself. I did ask what would happen if she felt it wasn’t possible. I distinctly remember her making a bit of a ‘face’  before saying that she’d probably move her to North Carolina. Knowing that she’d be in the area for the month made me smile. Now I could be looking for her on Sundays.

There were a number of things to be done down in the undercroft to prepare for the reception  that would follow the service the next day. This was the first time the diocesan Bishop had ever visited the church and the minister wanted everything to be perfect. I had to set up and move tables, hang banners and hide some of the junk going back to the ill fated thrift shop. I’d hoped to be out of there by 2pm and was on target to make it when one of the older women told me the ‘other Elle’ was looking for me. Like I’ve said many times before, timing is everything and this was not the time I wanted to take out for her. She’d made her way around the building to the side and was working by the steps to the minister’s office. She was stooping over while watering some of the plants she’d transplanted. Walking up behind her I got a ’two-fer’… a VPL and a DP. The pants she was wearing looked to be what I’d classify as ‘good’, definitely not work pants, and the VPL was ‘vivid’. After seeing it and the DP I hope I’d be able to identify the maker of the panties from the waist elastic. I knew I’d seen that style before but it wasn’t registering. That was a disappointment but seeing both made being late to leave worth while.

As I approached my driveway I could see the race car hauler stopped on the side of the road across from the house. I changed my clothes but didn’t get a chance to eat anything. It was a quiet trip to the track partially because Cliffy didn’t like to be kept waiting. The other reason was the others were a bit apprehensive about running 50 laps knowing that there was a problem with the crankshaft. We all knew we were taking a bit of a chance but had been told the new rod bearings would hold up. I, for one sure hoped so. At the track Freddy had the carburetor waiting for us. Dick and Cliffy took care of mounting it and working on the throttle linkage. Practice started before they were done which, to me, was a bad omen.

I'm not sure what I expected. The only one who'd really know if the new one made any difference was Cliffy. We watched him make about five laps, at speed, before pulling into the infield until that practice session was over. When he pulled the car into our pit stall we were all holding our breath, waiting for Cliffy's appraisal. It was an expletive. There was something wrong with the float levels. When he'd let off the accelerator to go into a turn too much gas was getting into the cylinders and when he'd 'punch' the throttle coming out of the turn the engine would hesitate. That meant having to take the carburetor apart. Thankfully, Cliffy knew how to do it and what to do once he got it apart. But... it all took time and because it was the special Fourth of July show they were starting the show a bit early (there was a village ordinance which mandated the track to shut down the racing at 11pm). We started the motor just as they were calling the cars for the first race. NOT... what we wanted.

To be continued...