Joe and Uncle Bill and do it yourself because it's what you do

Cars are better today; I don't think there's any doubt about that. They are built better and last longer. The only real downside to that is that they are more difficult to fix when there is an issue. Forty years ago, back in my day, sonny, I pulled an engine on the car I had at the time and replaced a rear main oil seal on my own. I never gave it a second thought: it needed it so I did it. I'd never attempt such a task these days, flying almost totally blind as I did.

To give you an example from even farther back in Cosgriff history, and which shows that car repairs were even simpler way back when, I'll tell you the tale of me Grandpa Joe and his brother, me Uncle Bill.

There were driving around one day and whatever old vehicle they were in threw a rod. A very simple and I'm sure unsatisfying explanation of this is that a piston rod came off the crankshaft in the engine. If the piston can't work, and it can't if it's not connected to anything, the car won't go (or at least it won't go very well or very far). So what did those two venerable brothers do?

They found a ditch deep enough for their purposes, straddled it with the car, crawled under the vehicle and fixed that thrown rod on the spot. Then they went on their way.

Granted, me Uncle Bill had a reputation as a great mechanic, and they of course had tools on them. Still, doing a major engine repair, one that likely took an hour or two, on the side of the highway while lying in a ditch, well, you ain't doing that very often if at all these days.