The sign said more than “Closed”
The sign was succinct and spoke volumes. Definitively Closed. No ambiguity there. Sometime in the last few days, our only local garage and service station rolled down the gates over their bays, turned off the pump motors and left without saying goodbye.
Not that we can’t buy gas elsewhere, or get a tire changed. It’s just that the market is specialized now, and we can’t do more than one thing at any of the other addresses. This was a classic service site, with three bays and a set of pumps for the ordinary and extra blends. A couple of tow trucks that were there should the need arise. And most importantly, there were a couple of guys who had seen it all. When your car went up on the hoist for something simple like an oil change, the fellow with the dirty cap was also scoping out the undercarriage for potential disasters.
We’ve been clients on a “in time of need” basis for almost a quarter of a century. We were there when the Renault Cinq blew a rod. We were there when the Elantra had gone so lone between oil transfusions that it was almost shameful. We had a brake lining or two replaced. That’s why there’s angst. Who else will we trust when the chips are down?
Our experience with CannyTire has been “so-so”. Our experience with the local (if thirty kilometres away is local) auto dealer has been “so-so”. Now we’re back to the feeling of being in a new neighbourhood. We’ll have to ask the kid three doors down about who to trust (and what does the kid know?). Life just became a whole lot more complicated.
