War Against the Machines

Working on the Car

From Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance, page 107

Papaw was Gruff to the point of absurdity. To every suggestion or behavior he didn't like, Papaw had one reply: "bullshit." that was everyone's cue to shut the hell up. His hobby was cars: he loved buying, trading, and fixing them. One day not long after Papaw quit drinking, Uncle Jimmy came home to find him fixing an old automobile on the street. "He was cussing up a storm. 'These God damn Japanese cars, cheap pieces of shit. What a stupid motherfucker who made this part.' I just listened to him, not knowing a single person was around, and he just kept carrying on and complaining. I thought he sounded miserable." Uncle Jimmy had recently started working and was eager to spend his money to help his dad out. So he offered to take the car to a shop and get it fixed. The suggestion caught Papaw completely off guard. "What? Why?" He asked innocently. "I love fixing cars."

I've been there more times than I can count. When one gets involved in attempting to repair a broken machine, you are inevitably going to run into situations that you could swear were devised by some demon from hell. Bolts that won't turn, bolts that break off, bolts you can't reach because there is some totally unrelated collection of mechanical parts blocking your way. Some people, when they encounter these situations, give up. A dedicated gearhead will redouble his efforts. You want to get cross-wise with me, you useless piece of shit? I'll show you - this means war!

P. S. Goodreads lists like two dozen summaries of Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance. What's up with that?