Stephen Yeargin

Like most machines, vehicles require a fair amount of preventative maintenance to stay in good working order. Some things should be checked more often than others, like tire pressure and oil level. This is amplified in older vehicles because there are often systems within that age unevenly, causing even the slightest shake or noise to be a cause for concern.

Then, there is the loud grinding sound in your front left tire … but more on that later.

We left out this morning for Lewisburg, Tenn., after stopping by two area libraries. One objective was to return/pickup books for Samantha and the other was to participate in the presidential primaries. The last time I voted on election day was in 2002, and it has become much more common for us to simply participate in the early voting period. When we arrived at the Madison Library, a small but eager crowd of sign holders for the Barack Obama campaign stood on the street corner. Samantha was driving my van, and honked in support.

(Recalling my contention that the horn was busted)
Me: Well, I guess my horn works after all.
Samantha: Of course it works, you just have to push it harder.
Me: Makes sense.
(Pause, remembering that she frequently lets other drivers know of their ills)
Me: I don’t think you could drive without a working horn.

It only took a distance of about 10 feet when we rode with Samantha’s dad to diagnose the problem that I had been fairly sure of: worn out brakes. I was not expecting non-existent pads on just one tire, which I guess explains why I had not noticed any change in performance of braking, and that the noise had grown increasingly louder over the past few days. It is never fun to have that realization that something that could have been prevented by being a bit more observant is going to cost more to fix (it had put a nice worn groove in the rotor plate).

We left the vehicle with her parents for the week. As I do not have any contacts at brake shops or general mechanics, I readily leave it up to those who do. Both of our vehicles are 10 and 15 years old respectively, and the van was already on the short list of budget priorities. Still, as long as it gets me back and forth to work, I am in no hurry to start driving her car and picking out a four-door sedan for her to drive. We will see how today’s events factor into that decision making process.

With one lesson learned, we came home. The Obama supporters on the street corner were no doubt elated to learn that the senator from Illinois had been projected to win South Carolina moments after the polls closed. It became obvious why that was the case as the night wore on, even though he did not stay on pace for the full 70 percent that was on screen when we turned on the television. The process now goes on to Super Tuesday on February 5, where Tennessee and 22 other states will have their chance.

If South Carolina was any indication, brace for impact.