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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ OT- It's easy to complain about these cars some days

Posted by: sww914 Jul 18 2009, 11:52 AM

My step-father was a surgeon before retirement. Back in the 60's he had done a sabbatical in Ghana. Ghana is in West Africa, near Nigeria. He fell in love with the place, made lifelong friends, and has returned a dozen times. In the last few years he befriended a mechanic in the Capital, Accra. They would write occasionally and keep in touch. A couple of years ago he returned to Ghana for a visit and he surprised his mechanic friend with a couple of simple gifts. A torque wrench, used Craftsman, worth maybe $20.00 here, and a set of Torx wrenches.
The mechanic cried for 1/2 an hour.
He'd been a mechanic for 30 years and had never even seen a torque wrench. He'd seen pictures but not a real tool, ever.
He said that he would now have the ability to replace a head gasket properly, after all this time. Not only did he now own THE ONLY torque wrench in the country, but the 2 neighboring countries as well.

Makes all my difficulties trying to finish a 911 last night, working until 8:00 on a Friday night seem pretty insignificant.

Posted by: BMXerror Jul 18 2009, 12:22 PM

Awesome short story. Really makes you appreciate what you have. Maybe we should start the 'Adopt a Mechanic' program! The guy would probably shit a brick over a compressor/impact or a set of gear wrenches!
Mark D.