LETTERS: ADVICE TO SON: CAR IS LIKE A WOMAN

To the editor:

My son has a car which we have named Old Blue. Recently, she started acting up while in Jackson as he was on the threshold to take her to Cape. He left her stranded, afraid to push her any more than he already had, as she was acting very much out of her normal disposition.

The next day, as I was taking my son to see her in my car named Big Red, my son began to talk about getting a divorce from Old Blue. He was going to leave her for a truck.

Knowing that he would be making payments on Old Blue even if he went after that truck, I thought it was time for a father-and-son talk about cars' being much like a woman.

"Son," I said, "a car is like a woman. Old Blue has been rather expensive, I will be the first to admit, but she has given you some good times while you have had her. Sure, she needs things once in a while, but they all do, especially when they get a few miles on them. You have to treat them gentle, with tender, loving care. If you give them the needed attention, they will serve you well. Old Blue has sat there all by herself on the side of the road. Who knows, perhaps she will act better now that she had had time to cool off."

I could see the hope in my son's eyes as we approached the area where Old Blue spent the night. It was obvious that he had missed her. Old Blue perked right up when we turned her on, and she purred like a kitten all the way to Cape. As it turned out, she had some water splashed on her, and it upset her ability to perform.

I'm happy to say that my son and Old Blue are lovers again, and that truck has not even been mentioned. Sometimes a father needs to have a father-to-son talk when it comes to women. And cars.

RON FARROW

Cape Girardeau