Living in the desert, sometimes you have to learn to rely on what it on hand to survive. One day years ago, my father decided to show us a development his company was doing down on the Mexican border. The farming operation turned out to be about 10 miles north of Mexico and about 60 miles from the nearest paved road. Driving back out to the highway in our Rambler Ambassador Stationwagon, my father hit a huge rock and knocked a good sized hole in the gas tank. Instead of becoming vulture bait, he grabbed a bar of soap, jumped out of the car and rubbed the soap on the hole in the tank. Miraculously, within a few seconds the gas stopped leaking and we drove out to the highway and home.
We drove that car for months and months with the hole in the gas tank. Every once in a while, we would get out and put a little more soap on the hole. I think we finally sold the car.
Many years later, after I was married with lots of little children, I drove off the pavement in a camp ground and hit a rock in our Suburban. Same problem, hole in the gas tank. When I finally realized that gas was running out onto the ground I yelled for my wife to grab a bar of soap. She thought I had lost my mind and thought I was going to run over to the water faucet and wash my hands or something. But she got the soap and in a few seconds, like magic, the leak stopped and we were able to drive home.
Good thing we were all raised in the desert.
No comments:
Post a Comment