Herb Benham: Car -- and owner -- run hot and cold on NASA coolant
| Wednesday, Jul 29 2009 04:15 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Jul 29 2009 04:15 PM
First an update on Arctic Freeze, the Freon with the NASA-approved sealant to which I referred in a previous column.
The air conditioning in the almost 20-year-old Lexus had taken a knee. The estimate from the air-conditioning shop was $1,800 for a car that is worth $1,800. Put $1,800 in a car that is worth $1,800 and the car is still worth $1,800, maybe less. Addition doesn't help with this math problem.
A reader suggested Arctic Freeze, something that had worked on a truck he had purchased in Paso Robles. His air conditioning died, and for under $40, Arctic Freeze restored it like Botox restores youth to a wrinkly forehead.
I bought several canisters wrapped in the hard plastic that only the jaws-of-life can open. John, my mechanic, put it in (if you don't know what you're doing, you might end up with Freon face). I figured if the product performed miracles on space ships in outer space where there are leaks but no air-conditioning shops, could it not render the toasty streets of Bakersfield cool and comforting?
After a week, my air conditioning is semi cool. Meaning, on a hot day, it's the difference between the temperature in Gorman (mine) and the temperature in Lost Hills (Lost Hills). Gorman is cooler, but you'd still rather be in Carpinteria.
I have noticed something else. One vent blows cool air and another one warm. Now, the car is worth $1,200.
***
Janet Manning, a friend, called last week after reading the column on beating my wife in Scrabble for the first time in 20 games. It reminded her that she used to beat her late husband, Larry, like a steel drum in Cribbage. Larry was a good sport, he had to be as he was Janet's punching bag when it came to Cribbage. Larry realized, as many of us do who dedicate ourselves to a lifetime of demoralizing and often humiliating losses, that it helps to become somewhat philosophical.
Either that, or you can pretend as if the games are a push overall, like my father-in-law does in his Gin Rummy games with his wife. However some of us know better, and if pressed, can refer to the spiral bound notebooks cataloging both the victories and defeats.
I suspect women are better game players than men. Am I wrong here?
***
It appears that I am incapable of learning. In my article about Tomas Alvarado, the East High graduate, who is now an opera singer in Italy, I suggested that other than the great baritone Lawrence Tibbett, Bakersfield might not have a longtime opera tradition. Say something like that and it's cause for one local opera singer after another to come out of the wings and launch into an aria.
"I find it unfortunate that the only other opera singer you mention is Lawrence Tibbett when a fellow EB grad, Adonis Abuyen, has traveled the world with his training in opera," writes Sydney Howard Peterson, an English teacher and forensics coach at Ridgeview High School.
"A graduate of Chapman University and doctoral student in opera and conducting at Indiana University, Adonis set the groundwork for what has become a career in teaching, learning, and singing. He has been in many operas not only with IU, but also in places like Germany, Rome, and Vatican City. Adonis has made his life out of opera, and he now is considering teaching his gift to others."
***
Talked to Tom and Karen Moore, the truck-driving couple who were the subject of a column some months ago. Trucking is slow, and in order to reduce anxiety, Karen has taken up the piano and Tom, the trombone.
While one drives, the other practices (she on a portable keyboard).
"Tom used to play 50 years ago and I played 30," Karen said. "Once you're in the truck, no one else can hear you."
No one else but your spouse, which in this case, must be a beloved one.
