Mick the mechanic

A few weeks ago I noticed I had a headlight out on my car. Fearing a costly citation, I wanted to replace it ASAP. I picked up a replacement bulb, watched a Youtube instructional video (thank goodness for the internet!) and installed the new bulb. Not being the handiest guy in the world, the installation was not without its snags, but all in all it went pretty well. A few days later, Michael informed me he had a headlight out on his truck. He asked if I'd help install the replacement bulb. I agreed to help (and I use the word help lightly). Michael did most of the work and again, the job was not without its difficulties. Car companies do not exactly put things where they can easily be reached. Basically you have to be a contortionist to reach the area on the car you need to work on. As Michael was struggling with the replacement project, I heard him mutter, "I should have taken it to a mechanic!". I took this as a cue to teach my son a valuable lesson. A replacement bulb is $10. As difficult as the job may be, it's worth the time to stick with the job and do it yourself. To take a car to an auto shop for a headlight would be foolish. First you'd pay more than $10 for the bulb and then you'd pay outlandish labor costs. In the end, Michael completed the job and was happy the only money he paid was for the bulb. That's the end of the story, right? Nope! A few nights later, I noticed a headlight was out on Abby's car. Holy cow! Three headlights on three different cars in the span of a couple of weeks! Weird. So, in the interest of safety for my youngest driver I wanted to get the bulb replaced as soon as I could. I made a trip to NAPA on my way home from work, watched another instructional video and was ready to make quick work of this seemingly simple task. Notice I said SEEMINGLY simple. As is usually the case with me and auto repair, nothing is ever easy. Try as I might, I could not get the old bulb out of the socket. I depressed the tab that was supposed to release the bulb. No success. I twisted, turned, pushed, pulled, yanked and pried the bulb. Nothing was working. Finally in frustration and heeding the lesson I had attempted to teach my son mere days earlier, I got a screwdriver and "forced the issue". With a virtual explosion of plastic and glass, the bulb was gently coaxed out of its socket. Great! It's all downhill from here, right? NOPE! A quick look at the new bulb and the old socket revealed the geniuses at NAPA had given me the wrong bulb. No problem. It's just a minor bump in the road. Just run to NAPA and make an exchange for the correct bulb. Easy, right? Wrong again! By this time, NAPA had closed for the evening. UGH! Now what? Enter Auto Zone! Thankfully they were open later than NAPA and I was able to get the correct bulb. Finally the job was done and Abby had a new headlight.

I am no mechanic. I will never win the handyman of the year award. However, as I grow older, I am trying to learn more skills that will allow me to fix things myself. So far, I know this: Righty tighty, lefty loosey. It hurts when your thumb gets in the way of the hammer. Measure twice and cut once. If you cut a piece of wood too short, it will still be too short if you cut it again. I know how to check a car's oil and I know how to replace a headlight. My skills are extremely limited, but I'm working on it.