Curbing my enthusiasm

Some people have big birthday parties. Not me. Low key is just fine. I didn’t do anything special on the actual day of my birth, beside show up. And my days are full of blessings already.

Many people want to sing “Happy Birthday” to you on your birthday. I had an impromptu serenade on the way out of Church on Sunday. Very sweet.

Most people blow out the candles on a birthday cake. That was way too pedestrian for me. I decided to blow out a tire on my birthday. Therein lies a Mexican story.

Here in tiny Ajijic, the streets are cobblestone and narrow. Sometimes they are one-way, sometimes two-way, sometimes driver’s-choice. Sometimes you can park on only one side, sometimes both, sometimes in the middle of the street, if that’s convenient for you. Potholes pop up after every downpour during the rainy season, and they vary between a little bump and a real off-road experience. All these points lead one to drive with your eyes on the roadway, and hope for the best with respect to the sides of your car.

Which means when you park, you get as close to the curb as possible, and ALWAYS bend your side-view mirror in. Or else replace it. Or tape it back on. Or not.

On the way to Church on Sunday, when I parked as close to the curb as possible, I heard a very unusual “pfffft” sound just as I stopped. I went to check the passenger side front tire, and it was instantly and completely flat. Seems there were these odd little rusted metal do-dads sticking off the curb. They were all in a row, about a meter apart. Anti-parking strips? No, this was a legal space. Curb protectors? Why protect a huge concrete curb with a little piece of metal? Posts for a sign or sidewalk bumper? Perhaps. Never seen anything to protect a sidewalk in Mexico, but a long-gone sign for advertising? Yes, I could certainly see that in Mexico.

Of course my tire was new and there was no fixing it. And since my car was both new and a different model (VW) than I had ever owned, I got the joy of discovery as I installed my spare.  What’s this tool for (removing the lug covers)? Hey, look, there’s a locking lug-nut! I wonder where the special unlocking tool is? Hmmmm, must be a jack in here somewhere! I did have the owner’s manual in both English and Spanish. And the spare had helpful advice in German and Spanish. After a few multilingual swearings, I got the tire changed and proceeded to Mass.

After Mass, we asked friends Judy & Lorraine where to go to replace the tire, and they agreed (!) on Beto’s. So on Monday I drove down to Beto’s, past a fierce guard dog (not pictured; he was camera shy), and dropped off my tire. The mechanic just laughed when he saw it: no question this was a replacement job, not a repair job. Beto didn’t have my tire in stock, but he said he would go buy it and have it ready to install mañana.

A rule I learned NOB was the better the auto mechanic, the worse the condition of the shop. Seems like real gear-heads like to work on cars, and aren’t necessarily that into luxury accommodations. If you see a cappuccino machine in the repair shop waiting room, run! Beto’s place met my requirements, exactly. The front door is the driveway, which doubles as the waiting room because there is an outdoor couch in it. The stock of tires was limited, but they went out and found me a right-sized Michelin overnight. And they were friendly and efficient. Total cost was $5000 pesos (installed), around $300 US. Very reasonable: I could have gone with a cheaper tire, but this is not an area where I economize.

For locals, Beto’s is next to Tony’s in San Antonio Tlayacapan. The dangerous tire-stickers were along Constitución, just past Galeana.

So I got a new tire and a new mechanic: happy birthday to me!