The third item goes to a story I haven't found time to tell. The short version is our older car stalled on me twice in the past couple of months. Once when I stopped at a traffic light; when the light turned green, the car refused to budge. We had it towed to my friendly neighborhood mechanic, who has seen this vehicle many times over the years. Our mechanic is very thorough and does good work, but is expen$ive. But you can't get thorough and good work without shelling out for it.
So he did tests ($) and discerned that the car, a 2004 Nissan, needed a new battery ($) and another test ($$) indicated we needed a new fuel pump ($$). Then there was another test of the electrical system ($$$) that was inconclusive, so we held off doing more. (Forgot to mention that about three months before that, the call stalled and they replaced the alternator.)
About a week ago, the car stalled out again, this time as I was turning off a major thoroughfare onto a service road. I was out and about doing errands and realized, at one stop, I had forgotten my cell phone. Oh, well, I thought, who's going to call me? Famous last words. The store I went to didn't have what I wanted so I went to a Best Buy, figuring they would have it. But after I pushed my car safely out of the way, I realized, "How am I going to call for help? I left my cellphone at home!"
Then I realized, I can use the phone at Best Buy. That proved to be more difficult than expected. The greeter sent me so someone in the mobile phone area who was just playing on her phone. When I asked to use the store phone, she directed me to another clerk who was helping a customer. I waited and then I asked the clerk playing on her phone again if I could use the store phone which was right in front of her. She acceeded, and I tried to call Uder to get a ride home to get my phone and my other car. Then I remembered, "How am I going to call anybody? I don't have my cellphone!"
Okay, call information, 311, for Uber's number.
The call didn't go through.
Okay, then the long version, 555-1212. No luck.
After a few tries, I asked the woman playing on her phone if I needed to call a code to reach the outside. She said yes. ("Now you tell me," I thought.)
It still didn't work, so I asked someone else and found a more-helpful clerk, after I explained my situation, allowed me to call Lyft on his personal cellphone. Fine by me. Except ... I didn't want him to get billed for my service call. So I let him add my credit-card information to his account and he pledged to erase it as soon as the transaction cleared. He maded the call, Lyft picked me up and brought me home, I retrieved my cellphone and got in my other car, drove back to Best Buy and bought the item I went there for in the first place, met the clerk who showed me that he had indeed erased my credit-card information, and went to the stalled car to call a tow truck from AAA.
The word from my friendly neighborhood mechanic was that the alternator wasn't working, so the car was rapidly draining the battery. And there was a loose wire in the starter system, which is why the car wouldn't crank. They replaced the alternator, which was still under warranty, replaced the bad wire gratis because we are longtime customers, and road-tested the car for at least 20 miles before returning it to us. (I said they are thorough.)
I say this to say that the third Father's Day gift from my son is ... a device to start the engine when in distress! It also inflates times, too!
A total stranger wished me a Happy Father's Day yesterday. It's always weird when that happens; I neverknow quite what to say.
For the rest of us, June 21 was also the Summer solstice.
ClarkKent_DC > Jeff of Earth-JJune 22, 2026 at 10:54pm
Jeff of Earth-J said:
A total stranger wished me a Happy Father's Day yesterday. It's always weird when that happens; I neverknow quite what to say.
Oddly, these days people seem to offer pleasantries like "Happy Mother's Day" and "Happy Father's Day" to any female or male within the sound of their voice.
It may stem from the well-intentioned but still misguided impluse to ensure they aren't excluding anyone. For example, one friend of mine posted "Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, uncles, and father figures!" Similarly, I've seen and heard people express "Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, 'aunties' and mother figures!" I mean, I don't expect someone to say "Happy Mother's Day" to me as I know I'm not eligible for the sentiment, but it's almost getting to that point. (Like the similarly well-intentioned but misguided conflation of Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Armed Forces Day.)
Plus, on the other hand, there are people who don't see either day as cause for celebration, owing to fraught relationships or family histories or personal tragedies. Like a couple at my church who my wife and I think of as mentors; their son died in a motor vehicle crash more than two decades ago, and they still find it hard. The mother particularly has trouble with Mother's Day as it reminds her of the loss.
As to your implied question, I wonder what Miss Manners might say. I expect something along the lines of deflecting the sentiment, not saying "Thank you" but not insisting on correcting the record, at least not with someone you likely aren't ever going to see again. ("It is a pleasant day, isn't it?")
On Father's Day I went to breakfast at a restaurant that I frequent. A waiter who has served me several times quietly asked me if i was a father, before blurting out the sentiment. I replied "unfortunately, no." He or someone he knew may have made that mistake and he didn’t want to create an embarrassing situation.
Replies
In the way of gifts, the young man who made it possible for me to celebrate the day gave me three great gifts -- two suggested by me, one not.
The suggestions were a new wallet and a copy of DC Finest: War: The Big Five Arrive.
The third item goes to a story I haven't found time to tell. The short version is our older car stalled on me twice in the past couple of months. Once when I stopped at a traffic light; when the light turned green, the car refused to budge. We had it towed to my friendly neighborhood mechanic, who has seen this vehicle many times over the years. Our mechanic is very thorough and does good work, but is expen$ive. But you can't get thorough and good work without shelling out for it.
So he did tests ($) and discerned that the car, a 2004 Nissan, needed a new battery ($) and another test ($$) indicated we needed a new fuel pump ($$). Then there was another test of the electrical system ($$$) that was inconclusive, so we held off doing more. (Forgot to mention that about three months before that, the call stalled and they replaced the alternator.)
About a week ago, the car stalled out again, this time as I was turning off a major thoroughfare onto a service road. I was out and about doing errands and realized, at one stop, I had forgotten my cell phone. Oh, well, I thought, who's going to call me? Famous last words. The store I went to didn't have what I wanted so I went to a Best Buy, figuring they would have it. But after I pushed my car safely out of the way, I realized, "How am I going to call for help? I left my cellphone at home!"
Then I realized, I can use the phone at Best Buy. That proved to be more difficult than expected. The greeter sent me so someone in the mobile phone area who was just playing on her phone. When I asked to use the store phone, she directed me to another clerk who was helping a customer. I waited and then I asked the clerk playing on her phone again if I could use the store phone which was right in front of her. She acceeded, and I tried to call Uder to get a ride home to get my phone and my other car. Then I remembered, "How am I going to call anybody? I don't have my cellphone!"
Okay, call information, 311, for Uber's number.
The call didn't go through.
Okay, then the long version, 555-1212. No luck.
After a few tries, I asked the woman playing on her phone if I needed to call a code to reach the outside. She said yes. ("Now you tell me," I thought.)
It still didn't work, so I asked someone else and found a more-helpful clerk, after I explained my situation, allowed me to call Lyft on his personal cellphone. Fine by me. Except ... I didn't want him to get billed for my service call. So I let him add my credit-card information to his account and he pledged to erase it as soon as the transaction cleared. He maded the call, Lyft picked me up and brought me home, I retrieved my cellphone and got in my other car, drove back to Best Buy and bought the item I went there for in the first place, met the clerk who showed me that he had indeed erased my credit-card information, and went to the stalled car to call a tow truck from AAA.
The word from my friendly neighborhood mechanic was that the alternator wasn't working, so the car was rapidly draining the battery. And there was a loose wire in the starter system, which is why the car wouldn't crank. They replaced the alternator, which was still under warranty, replaced the bad wire gratis because we are longtime customers, and road-tested the car for at least 20 miles before returning it to us. (I said they are thorough.)
I say this to say that the third Father's Day gift from my son is ... a device to start the engine when in distress! It also inflates times, too!
A total stranger wished me a Happy Father's Day yesterday. It's always weird when that happens; I neverknow quite what to say.
For the rest of us, June 21 was also the Summer solstice.
Jeff of Earth-J said:
Oddly, these days people seem to offer pleasantries like "Happy Mother's Day" and "Happy Father's Day" to any female or male within the sound of their voice.
It may stem from the well-intentioned but still misguided impluse to ensure they aren't excluding anyone. For example, one friend of mine posted "Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, uncles, and father figures!" Similarly, I've seen and heard people express "Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, 'aunties' and mother figures!" I mean, I don't expect someone to say "Happy Mother's Day" to me as I know I'm not eligible for the sentiment, but it's almost getting to that point. (Like the similarly well-intentioned but misguided conflation of Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Armed Forces Day.)
Plus, on the other hand, there are people who don't see either day as cause for celebration, owing to fraught relationships or family histories or personal tragedies. Like a couple at my church who my wife and I think of as mentors; their son died in a motor vehicle crash more than two decades ago, and they still find it hard. The mother particularly has trouble with Mother's Day as it reminds her of the loss.
As to your implied question, I wonder what Miss Manners might say. I expect something along the lines of deflecting the sentiment, not saying "Thank you" but not insisting on correcting the record, at least not with someone you likely aren't ever going to see again. ("It is a pleasant day, isn't it?")
On Father's Day I went to breakfast at a restaurant that I frequent. A waiter who has served me several times quietly asked me if i was a father, before blurting out the sentiment. I replied "unfortunately, no." He or someone he knew may have made that mistake and he didn’t want to create an embarrassing situation.
Several times in my life I have known men who got in hot water with their wives for not fêting them on Mother's Day after having their first child.
Oh, did they think they were supposed to spend Mother's Day with their mothers and leave their wives out of it?
Tsk tsk, I say. Also, tsk. Clearly, they hadn't been married long enough to know better.
We did not really celebrate Father's Day this year. But we attended my grandson's 2nd birthday party on Saturday, which was even better!