Clutch

May 25, 2019

It’s been somewhat wonky for awhile now, but I didn’t think anything of it. Occasionally the clutch on my truck would stick when I depressed it all the way. I thought it was catching the floor mat and a tap with my toe would bring it back in line. That ended this afternoon. I had been asked to say a few words and offer a prayer at a memorial gathering for a woman from our Dunkirk church. I did so, spent some time with the family and got up to leave. 

Climbing into my truck, I depressed the clutch, turned the key and started up. The clutch was stuck, so I shifted to neutral so I could tap it with my toe. It popped up, but when I went to shift into reverse, the clutch wouldn’t budge. I all but stood on it; it was like a rock. There was no moving it. After calling Linda to come get me, I called AAA. When Linda arrived, she called Matt who suggested I Google the problem. I did. It sounds expensive. I don’t have much choice. 

That’s the bad news. The good news is that even though it’s never fun to pay repair bills, whatever it costs we can afford. There was a time when this wasn’t the case. Early on in our marriage, I did full brake jobs, tore into motors, replaced ball joints and radiators. I even did body work. It wasn’t pretty, but it did the job. I’be never been a mechanic, but when you don’t have the money, you have to do the best you can. It’s even worse when time is of the essence. There were way too many times I had to have the car ready by the next day. Stress is when you have neither the skills nor the tools but have to get the job done. So tonight I am grateful for AAA which towed the truck, for competent mechanics who will fix it properly, and for the resources God has given to get me back on the road.