Mr. Fix It

Mr. Fix It

“Boo!” I poked my head into the open car window and tried to scare Kyle and Thunder as they napped.

“Is it time for us to head back to Anchorage?” Kyle asked.

“Yup,” was my reply.

“Alright, let’s go” Kyle said as he started the jeep.

As we pulled out of the parking lot and started our descent down from Eklutna Lake I tried to roll up the windows. No matter how many times I pressed the button the window wouldn’t go up. “Ummm, honey, the windows won’t go up,” I said. Kyle then tried using his driver side controls. Nothing. No movement of any windows. And since Kyle and Thunder had been sleeping in the jeep the windows weren’t open just a crack, they were about halfway down.

Uh oh. The magnitude of the problem started to dawn on us. If the windows wouldn’t close we couldn’t park anywhere safely. With the windows wide open someone could just stick their hand in and steal all our valuables. Or worse, they could unlock the car and figure out how to drive off with it. Yikes, and if it rained at all everything would get soaked. And while driving highway speeds we would get pretty chilly with all the windows down.

Ok, we HAD to find a way to fix the problem. Of course, it was a Sunday evening, so ther weren’t any mechanics or part stores open. With the following day being Memorial Day, we knew we were on our own. Ok, let me rephrase, Kyle knew he was on his own, my mechanical skills are lacking.

Using his iPhone Kyle researched the problem while I was at the vet with Thunder. When I emerged from the vet’s office Kyle said, “Ok, it’s one of two problems. It’s either a sensor in the latch mechanism or it’s some faulty wiring going to the door.” The latch would cost $300. The wiring would be relatively simple to fix. I crossed my fingers hoping that it was the wiring.

We then drove to the Walmart parking lot. After a little investigating Kyle figured out that it was a wiring problem. He went into the Walmart to purchase pliers, a wrench, and butt joints (what are those anyway?). Meanwhile, I sat in the car eating kettle corn and reading my book about Alexander the Great, useful huh?

Tools in hand, Kyle returned to the jeep and started doing things with the wiring in the driver side door. (As a writing teacher I tell my students never to use the word thing, but it can be good for vaguely describing something you don’t understand.)Twenty minutes later Kyle sat in the jeep, turned the key, pressed the button for the windows and watched as they went up!!! Hooray! For $12.10 Kyle had fixed the jeep and saved the day.