watchman
02-14-2010, 01:38 AM
I don't know what caused me to go down memory lane, maybe it is the unusually cold winter this year in America, whatever. But it was the winter of 77-78. I had just become one of Jehovah's Witnesses. In the immediate years before I took the plunge I had studied off and on while also dabbling on the fringes of the occult. So, let me tell you, the demons don't like it when you walk away from them. They feel jilted. Some of them get downright nasty. I had a few problems over the years back then, but they gradually subsided. But about the demon possessed Galaxy:
I bought this used car - a Ford Galaxy. Can't remember the year. But it had to have been mid 60's I would say. Worked fine for a few months - until the winter. Then one day the starter went out. No big deal. I was pretty handy with a wrench back then. I just slid under the car and yanked the starter off and went down to the auto parts store and got another one and popped it in. Cranked right up. A few days later, or maybe a few weeks, I can't remember. Same thing. Starter conked out. So, I knew the drill. Slide under the Galaxy and yank the starter out. The auto parts store replaced it free. The thing is though, the weather was really bad. It was a major hassle replacing this blasted thing. In fact, one day it was so cold I frostbit a couple of fingers when I pulled off my glove to get the bolts lined up and threaded in - something like zero outside. Anyway, I got the Galaxy rolling again.
A few days later, though, the starter goes out. I changed it out again. A few days later the starter went out, again. Finally I began to see a pattern developing. Every time I was driving to a meeting or going out in service the starter would conk out. The last time it went out I was on my way to a meeting and I stopped in a convenience store to buy a pack of gum. (Yes, I was one of those gum chewers in the kingdom hall you heard tell about) Anyway, I came out to the car, turn the key, rrrrrrr. Starter was out.
Mind you, once the starter made that dreaded whirring noise it was all over. You could sit and crank it all day and it would never catch. You could get under the hood with a hammer and bang on it. No go. And for you mechanics out there, no, the fly wheel was fine.
So, having had plenty of experience with demons, I began to get a little suspicious. So, I sat there behind the wheel of my dead Galaxy and prayed something along these lines: "Dear Jehovah, I am not asking you to fix my car. I can do that. But if this is the demons, I need your help. Amen" .... I turn the key...You guessed it, varooom. The Galaxy fired right up. Off I went. That starter never again acted up the whole time I drove that junker.
As a footnote to the story, although the starter never acted up again, the car caught on fire and nearly killed me. I was driving on the highway and apparently, the coil shot a spark that perforated the plastic fuel filter case, which then sprayed fuel out under pressure on the sparking coil. Suddenly black smoke came blasting in through the heater vents and the gas pedal linkage, also made of plastic, melted, causing the throttle to stick upon. Fortunately, I slammed on the brakes and shut off the engine and ran into the gas station and grabbed their fire extinguisher.
Hmmm, like I said, I don't know what made me detour down Memory Lane tonight. I think I was actually thinking about all the things Jehovah has helped me through. Yeah, that was it.
watchman
I bought this used car - a Ford Galaxy. Can't remember the year. But it had to have been mid 60's I would say. Worked fine for a few months - until the winter. Then one day the starter went out. No big deal. I was pretty handy with a wrench back then. I just slid under the car and yanked the starter off and went down to the auto parts store and got another one and popped it in. Cranked right up. A few days later, or maybe a few weeks, I can't remember. Same thing. Starter conked out. So, I knew the drill. Slide under the Galaxy and yank the starter out. The auto parts store replaced it free. The thing is though, the weather was really bad. It was a major hassle replacing this blasted thing. In fact, one day it was so cold I frostbit a couple of fingers when I pulled off my glove to get the bolts lined up and threaded in - something like zero outside. Anyway, I got the Galaxy rolling again.
A few days later, though, the starter goes out. I changed it out again. A few days later the starter went out, again. Finally I began to see a pattern developing. Every time I was driving to a meeting or going out in service the starter would conk out. The last time it went out I was on my way to a meeting and I stopped in a convenience store to buy a pack of gum. (Yes, I was one of those gum chewers in the kingdom hall you heard tell about) Anyway, I came out to the car, turn the key, rrrrrrr. Starter was out.
Mind you, once the starter made that dreaded whirring noise it was all over. You could sit and crank it all day and it would never catch. You could get under the hood with a hammer and bang on it. No go. And for you mechanics out there, no, the fly wheel was fine.
So, having had plenty of experience with demons, I began to get a little suspicious. So, I sat there behind the wheel of my dead Galaxy and prayed something along these lines: "Dear Jehovah, I am not asking you to fix my car. I can do that. But if this is the demons, I need your help. Amen" .... I turn the key...You guessed it, varooom. The Galaxy fired right up. Off I went. That starter never again acted up the whole time I drove that junker.
As a footnote to the story, although the starter never acted up again, the car caught on fire and nearly killed me. I was driving on the highway and apparently, the coil shot a spark that perforated the plastic fuel filter case, which then sprayed fuel out under pressure on the sparking coil. Suddenly black smoke came blasting in through the heater vents and the gas pedal linkage, also made of plastic, melted, causing the throttle to stick upon. Fortunately, I slammed on the brakes and shut off the engine and ran into the gas station and grabbed their fire extinguisher.
Hmmm, like I said, I don't know what made me detour down Memory Lane tonight. I think I was actually thinking about all the things Jehovah has helped me through. Yeah, that was it.
watchman