Mami Mechanic

I've noticed this thing with my truck. Sometimes, when I put the key in the ignition it sounds like my truck needs coffee.  It would start but, was lagging a bit kinda how I am without my cup of Bustelo in the mornings. Today, I realized why. My battery was dying and had been trying to tell me of its impending demise.  I found this out as I was leaving the house to go pick up the frog princess.  Two things papi showed me how to do: change a tire and jump a battery.  These two things have served me well.

I've had to change a tire twice.  Once, in the middle of a Florida rainstorm and once on a dark highway, with the flat tire partially in grass while I was wearing a Breakfast at Tiffany's black dress and matching heels.  I can do it in 10 minutes (in heels!) and I'm damn proud of that.

But a battery is a little different and though I could give it coffee, it wouldn't have done any good (though I probably could've used a cup).  After a brief period of a wild search looking for jumper cables I hit the jackpot.  I drove to my nearest AutoZone and found a friendly soul to help out.  It was hot outside but Freddy measured my battery juice, realized it was low and then sold me  a battery.  As I was checking out he asked if me I wanted to purchase some thingy magigs and I said yes because it was $2.49 and sounded good.  I can't remember the exact words but basically, Freddy said that the goo in the pouch was in order to clean the thingies that attach to the battery and the other stuff just look like felt circles in different colors.

As he was putting in my new battery, he took the felt thingies and popped them on each one of the terminals.  Green for negative and red for positive.  I had a vague thought that perhaps these felt circles were purchased in mass after Christmas and some creative soul figured out a way to make millions.  And, since when is the negative green? What happened to black? Do I now need to learn some complicated song to remember what's positive and negative? Because if so, I'm in trouble! I have yet to figure out the right color scheme for coral snakes and that's a life and death rhyme!

He then opened up the pouch and smeared the terminals with what to me looked like vaseline.  Um, this is supposed to stop build up of battery juice? Vaseline? I'll have to remember that for future reference.

The battery was good to go after that and so was I.  Of course that was about $85, 2 Christmas felts and some vaseline later.  I can't help but feel screwed out of $2.49. Without what was in the pouch...