Absolutely Anything Else

Was making myself laugh at myself today, thinking back on what an idiot , silly goose I was/and most times still am.
My mother raised us to be very open to other cultures and people, never to judge because of someones race, culture religion, she went through allot of hard times in the 1920's-30's growing up being raised by her native American grandmother, Natives were not even given the right to vote in the US until sometime in the late 1920's, non citizens in their own country!
Also growing up in a small red-neck, white bread town didn't help matters too much with my knowing allot about different cultures and people, mom just said don't get into anyones business ,live and let live etc. never got into discussing things too heavily. I suppose we had no Kosher shops in our town growing up, the subject was never brought up.
Ok, fast forward to when I was 19 years old . My HU then BF ( now husband) and I were living temp in NYC in Flatbush NY, Brooklyn, a real old neighborhood
which at that time was mostly a Jewish neighborhood.
We were staying with friends at their apt.We had many Jewish friends then, my husband knew them all from his old life in Hungary, all immigrants and all old friends, no religious ties either way for anyone, just friends.
One day, space case, Valley girl me went food shopping by myself.
Had a big plan to fry up some pork chops for dinner.
Went into several shops and looked around, couldn't find any pork anywhere, went into a Kosher Butcher Shop, the only kind in that area.
Looked around, no chops, decided to ask the butcher why I couldn't find any chops anywhere and if he happened to have any in the back.
He starred at me for a second and then broke out laughing hard, I had no clue why he was laughing.
I think he realized I was just some silly girl from Calif. without a clue.
He said straight faced to me, sorry, don't have any today but maybe you can try the shop across the street.
I think he wanted his friends to have a good laugh too.
He was nice but maybe he should of explained things to me because I would of hated to run into a butcher with no sense of humor!
I gave up after another shop or two and bought something else for dinner.
When my husband came home to eat, I told him I had planned on chops but couldn't find any anywhere, he laughed so hard I thought he would choke.
Dumb me, I often wish I was so innocent these days, innocent or just plain old dumb, still not sure.

Oh, hope I didn't insult anyone by my last post, just made me think of simpler times when there wasn't so much hate going around.
I had/have Jewish friends and we never spoke of our differences only about things we had in common, no one ever informed me about details of their culture.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Oh, hope I didn't insult anyone by my last post, just made me think of simpler times when there wasn't so much hate going around.
I had/have Jewish friends and we never spoke of our differences only about things we had in common, no one ever informed me about details of their culture.

Couple of months ago, I had a less positive and friendly response when trying to buy a bottle of wine or even a couple of cans of beer in Istanbul during Ramadan.  This was within a stone's throw of the main airport.   I was prompted to walk from my hotel by looking on Streetview and saw people lounging around at street cafes drinking beer etc.  No such luck.  I had to resort to the minibar (and extortionate prices).

On the other hand, I few weeks ago I had no problem buying bacon and wine in an a supermarket while in an Islamic country!

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Had a big plan to fry up some pork chops for dinner.

Okay, I have to admit, even I laughed at this. 

I would hope youngsters are better informed about different cultures and religions these days. As a teenager I would have been similarly ignorant about jews as they tend to integrate quite well with christians and don't appear much different. There was a jewish boy in my class at primary school but I only found out he was a jew many years after we left school. In those days christianity was taught in UK schools as though it was history, no other religions were ever mentioned but I think these days they teach kids about several different religions. I think it was possible for hindus, muslims etc. to be exempted from religious education but those who did so risked bullying or verbal abuse from the other kids so most would not risk it.

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Marilyn Tassy wrote:

They may be suffering from some form of xenophobia, they believe you have more money then they do, they are not being paid enough to deal with a spoiled you or me,they may think you are a one time customer, a tourist and that your business doesn't mean much either way.

And I hate to say this but, except for the xenophobia, in some ways they may have a point. 

I have seen, where I live, too many foreigners take complete and total advantage of Hungarians.

Want to buy a huge villa in Hungary in 1995? Give the Hungarian owner more money then they had seen in their entire life to that point, or about 20,000 Dollars/Euro. Literally, fiscal lint in the pocket of the foreigner buying the property (probably illegally via some setup KFT company headed by a Hungarian front man paid to pretend they owned the company). Wouldn't you get annoyed after you realized you were conned?

And tourists.... well... they can at times be really of a low class (or no class at all) who expect to be treated like kings for just a few Forint. So I understand why the locals don't want to bend over backwards for them, or develop a low opinion of them.

There is a lot of nativism now in Hungary. This is a problem. But I think it was caused by such foreigners, who might even have sold out by now and moved to other greener (i.e. money) pastures and victims. Even if gone the detritus they left still resonates, persists and remains and is exploited by some political casts to be in and stay in power.

There are a lot of issues in Hungary that predate this. I am not naive, and I have read Hungarian literature which shows me some issue in Hungary are cultural and historical. But still, in some ways, our fellow foreigners do have to take some blame. And not just western foreigners -- I know some Hungarians who also complain about Russian tourists/investors as well.

I know, I worked in Las Vegas casinos and some people no matter where they come from think just because they are on vacation, that everyone should lick their boots.
Most store clerks who only get a paycheck , don't have a vested interest in their jobs, don't have the time or energy to explain the labels, explain any store promos, help you count your money etc.
I understand .
We were in Spar one day and noticed to young UK men going over their bill after they had finished paying for their items, they didn't look happy. My husband was paying for our things and I was just waiting and walked up to the men and asked if we could be of any help, after my husband was done with his business. They were confused with one item, they bought a nail clipper that had a promo price they were charged a few thousand forints for it, not the sale price. With my husbands aid the clerk told them they needed store points to get the sale price, she had a line of people a mile long so even taking the time to explain to my husband got on her nerves.At least we helped those guys get a refund for a return of the clippers.
I never buy anything I am not sure about if I am alone, if I can not clearly understand they price, I just leave it till next time and let my husband double check the cost.Sometimes it takes a couple of trips but I have the time and not so much the money to waste.
I get more upset with the store owners not the workers.
A couple weeks ago I ran out of my coffee ( major event) I went over to a small CBA store to buy a bag, the store was closed for a remodel so I had to go into one of the Chinese owned shops, don't usually buy much in them because they seem to have the attitude that everyone is shoplifting , they watch your every move ect. even though they have those security things at the front doors and mirrors all over.
Just bugs me to feel like if I want to browse I am a suspect.
Anyways, I almost walked out without buying my coffee when I noticed how the young Chinese boy, was treating a very pretty young salesclerk, the line was long and she looked so nervous, he was watching her every move to make sure she was moving fast, getting the money put away etc. He stood over her like a Lord or something.
I didn't want to give him the business,( bet anything his family owned the shop) but I was not willing to walk to another larger store for my coffee.
I did look him straight in the face in front of every one and said,"It's hot in here, why don't you spring for some A/C?" He just nodded, not sure he understood a word, didn't care at least I sort of told him he was a jerk.He probably thought I was just another spoiled American tourist who was being a loud mouth, I just wanted to say something about how greedy they seemed and cheap with the air , poor clerk was literally sweating her butt off.
I think it would of been more to the point if I had not bought anything from the shop.
I felt sorry for the young women, she didn't look happy at all.
I am not anti- Chinese my son had a wonderful GF from Hong Kong for years, they almost had a baby boy together but it didn't arrive, she lost it because of some health issues she had. Seriously I almost had a no. 1 grandson, so no race hate on my part, more like greedy people make me ill.

I do wonder why  parents let their children insult people just because they think people won't understand.
Wow, my mom used to give us a good smack if she even thought we were thinking bad thoughts!
Speaking of people's faces dropping, many years ago, sometime in the 1980's, my older sister had a weird thing happen.
She always had strange things happening to her, it is a family trait, the most insane things come our way due to no fault of our own.
My sis was ( yes I am bragging) very pretty had been a model for a short time before she married and her husband put a stop to it.
She had been an "ugly duckling"child so when she blossomed she went full tilt.
She had even been featured in GQ mag. when she was 18 or 19.
Made a movie, ok just a bit part but still...
Anyways she was both pretty and smart, her iQ was over 145 and she had a way of picking up info like a magnet, so easy for her to do anything.
She was an ex. secretary for ages, ran offices for CPA's and lawyers, she could of done the jobs better then most of her bosses if she had wanted to actually take the time to get a  degree.
She was all dressed up for work in a downtown LA building, she got on a lift with two men.
The men didn't know she understood allot of HUngarian, she bought a couple of books in HUngarian because she had a HU boyfriend, again she could just remember and learn like nothing.
The two strangers started talking to each other in HU while checking out my sister. She knew exactly what they were saying, they liked her looks and were picking her apart, piece by piece and making comments to each other and laughing. She pretended she didn't understand them.
When she got to her floor and the doors opened, she turned around to the men smiling at them and told them both where to go and with who in HUngarian! Both of their faces dropped just as the doors closed on them. Funny stuff, never know who can understand you, best to either be ready to answer back or keep ones mouth shut.

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Marilyn Tassy wrote:

sent over 2 pairs of skies, I have 2 blown out knees so the skies are not used at all!

Ever do Nordic skiing? Much easier on the knees.

My sister told me to try Nordic skiing but my husband says it's "boring" I am semi-boring so sounds like something for me.
I no longer am a dare devil, did that once or twice and found myself knocked out cold or in the ER with my knee dislocated.
Slow and easy is the name of the game now.
Just being outside in nature and doing anything physical is ok with me.
In high school one of my friends had 2 horses, wow every teen girls dream come true.
She always needed a second to exercise her horses.
I went with her one day after school, got saddled up and off we went in the wash.
Having fun, laughing and not holding as tight as I should of been, the horse got "spooked" reared up and off I went in what seemed like slow motion. Flat out in the dirt, started to laugh and tried to get up, fell back and woke up a good 8 to 9 hours later in my mom's house hearing her once again on the phone with the family doctor.
This was in the late 1960's, no MRI or anything, just they told her to wake me up every hour and if  I didn't come around for a min. bring  me in and they would drill my head open! Just to relieve the pressure in my brain!!
Thankfully no drill was needed, still it is my excuse when I act spaced out, that and the other 3 or 4 times I was knocked out cold from a head injury, it is a wonder I am still walking and talking on my own, a real hard headed person after all!

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

My sister told me to try Nordic skiing but my husband says it's "boring"

Well, everyone sees things differently. I do not find Nordic skiing boring at all myself.

In other words, if one likes an aerobic workout, and likes to see a winter wonderland after a fresh powdery snow, It is not boring at all. At least no more boring than doing an aerobic workout in a gym (which I personally find very boring).

And unless one goes to a groomed trail, Nordic is free. Just plop your skis on a rural back road or trail with snow on it and go. No lift tickets to buy.

I would like to try  Nordic skiing, I love just being outdoors in the snow for a few hours, coming home to a hot drink( perferably hot wine or Irish coffee)
I did many, many long hours jumping around inside the gyms of many states, my husband used to tell me if I got paid for it we would be rich!
I thought of becoming an instructor but was too afraid that if it became a job then I wouldn't enjoy it any longer. Funny thing, I never found it boring, I am sure Nordic skiing would be allot more exciting then dancing around indoors listening to" It's Raining Men "for the 100th time.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I would like to try  Nordic skiing, I love just being outdoors in the snow for a few hours,

Well, if this year gives a good snow, I can provide lessons. 

Sadly, I only was able to go skiing once last winter. Almost no snow to speak of that stuck.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

coming home to a hot drink( perferably hot wine or Irish coffee)

I have hot wine and some great bottles of whiskey. Scotch or Irish, take your pick.  I know what is important in life.

klsallee wrote:

.....At least no more boring than doing an aerobic workout in a gym (which I personally find very boring)./...

BTW, I just cycled around Velence lake on my MTB and it's very boring.  33km, about 2h without racing but not dilly dallying too much either.  Only on the West side is a platform for looking at the birds but all you can see are reeds.  To the East (Velence and Gadony), it's mainly built up and suburban but the path does follow the  lake shoreline. One has to dodge the sunbathers who lay about near the bike path.  Since they introduce charges for the beaches, they are all empty and the free ones are full.  Not exactly unexpected but does mean cycling there is an obstacle course.

They now charge entry fee at lake Velence too?! Hard to believe because the water there always makes one feel sort of scummy, it is very muddy, at least at  Balaton you don't have a brown swimsuit after a long day in the water.

Yes I am trying to cut sugar down.  I now make very low sugar jam but it involves a much longer cooking time so turns out a bit smoother than it should.

A sad thing happened.  I had some vegan friends to visit and shortly before they arrived I made a vegan and therefore egg less carrot cake.... It came out of the oven like a large slab of rubber and bounced straight into the bin..

Sorry to hear about the carrot cake, I know you were working hard on making it perfect.

I must get a better oven too.

I just bought a new oven, refrig, and washing machine. Lots of sales this weekend! (Saved over 100,000 Fts altogether!)

My cousin from the states who I had not seen since I was 3 years old, was visiting Budapest last month.
We got on like family, like it was only a few weeks since we last saw each other not 58 years!
He didn't flash photos of his lovely home in Conn. until his last day with me,not a show off, he spent over $8,000 USD just on his new custom made Viking fridge in his remodeled kitchen!
Dang, I could buy an entire house full of things for that much money!
Our oven is 11 years old bought it new here in HU, almost time for a new one, next time one with a grill built in would be nice.

I know we really can't save the entire world but we try in small ways to make people's lives better.
Our "thing" is we try to help people who park on our street avoid getting the boot put on their cars.
I dropped the ball this morning, not myself , not fast and sharp this morning.
I was looking out the window before starting my yoga, didn't put two and two together fast enough to save some old retired people from the boot.
I saw 2 men in their 60's helping a women who seemed blind and was older then the men, perhaps she was their elderly mother.
I was watching them not not really looking at their car, they walked off and I noticed they had parked backwards.
They have camera's all down my street and the boot pirates are quick to come out and boot cars.
They were off to the hospital with the older women, helping her walk, they turned the corner before I could yell out to them to move their car.
I only know how to say, "wait" in HU, wasn't feeling like sticking my crazy self out the window and screaming wait so I could get my husband off his computer and out the window to tell them what was up.
They are still inside the hospital but the boot police have ticketed them and put a boot on their little old car.
Oh no, they have just arrived back to the car as I now write.
Old lady sitting in the car and the 2 men trying to phone the co. to pay and remove the boot.
I feel a bit guilty for being a slow wit this morning...
What makes me confused is one, there is no posted sign and two, don't people know the laws about parking here?
Perhaps it is legal in some areas to park against traffic?
This is a two way street, so it could be dangerous to pull out against traffic.
I admit once in awhile when a person who seems loud, music blaring next to the hospital new flashy car and talking loud on a cell phone, I don't go out of my way to tell them they will get a boot, like I said, we can't save the entire world and some people seem to need to learn a few life lessons.

They got their boot off the car and as they were pulling away I noticed the women may of just looked more elderly then the men, she may actually of been the drivers wife.
At least the way she was waving her hands in his face, I couldn't hear her but I know exactly what she was saying,"I told you so, you shouldn't of parked like that bla-bla" maybe she wasn't as blind as she seemed after all.

I got a parking ticket within about a week of coming to Hungary but that was in a car park that I thought was free. In UK they usually have barriers on car parks where you have to pay. The barrier to get in goes up when you take a ticket and the one to get out goes up when you feed it your ticket + money. In Hungary you have to look round for a ticket machine and if there isn't one it might or might not be a free car park! I have also been warned by other people sometimes when I've parked somewhere you shouldn't. Again in UK we have double yellow lines along the edges of roads where you can't park but in Hungary you tend to get a round, red & blue sign which in UK means no stopping and is not used in cities but on the open road. I knew what that sign meant but was not used to seeing it used in that context so didn't notice it. We often see what we expect to see rather that what is actually there.

We got a ticket on our st. 11 years back when we first moved in, we were acting like "sheep" and parked backwards because we saw others doing it.
Lesson learned, ticket given, No boot but they have learned to boot on our st. now, people pay right away, easy money for our district, God only knows what they are spending the money on, certainly not on dog clean up!
No to be fare they do wash the sidewalks at least once a week, still not often enough to keep up with the dogs however.
We still have to learn to read parking signs about every time we go anywhere outside our district and don't get the parking with our sticker.
A Piac we had not taken the car to for awhile changed their parking for free days, we thought our shopping day had 90 mins for free but they changed it to only 60 free mins. 450 forints for nothing! Second time that happened in the one piac, we thought we knew what days we were good for but they change them all the time.
No more taking the car there unless we are quick.
No one likes feeling like a sucker.
Right now my husband has taken the bus or tram to the same piac, seems silly when we have a car, not so great to have a car in the city because of the parking and the traffic. We don't even think about taking the car out on Fridays.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....because of the parking and the traffic. We don't even think about taking the car out on Fridays.

I've started driving to Kelenfold and taking Metro 4 or driving to Moscow Square and parking in Mammut if I really have to go to town. We hardly ever drive into the city now. We used to be able to park around the main Market for free but then that stopped, then I was parking next to the Gellert Hotel as it was free there but now it costs money.  At least in Kelenfold and Mammut it's still free parking.

Not only traffic in Budapest is bad, the mad rush to Balaton is on Friday. We came back from there yesterday.  Slow going at about 16h in the direction of Budapest.

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fluffy2560 wrote:

Uh-oh....it's that bubble again.....

I think he might be using that exercise ball wrong... 

klsallee wrote:

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fluffy2560 wrote:

Uh-oh....it's that bubble again.....

[img align=C]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d0/Rover_%28The_Prisoner%29.jpg[/url]

I think he might be using that exercise ball wrong... 

It was either him or the ball.  And the ball won!

Is that Rover, one of the more unusual British Leyland products?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Ffr1U7KMY

fidobsa wrote:

Is that Rover, one of the more unusual British Leyland products?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Ffr1U7KMY

It had several models and names, but Rover was it's usual moniker.  Strange that a large balloon could have become revered in 1970s TV fandom.  I'm old enough to remember it on TV but I was not old enough then to appreciate it.

I was just out on my bike and while I was hurtling through the forest I was musing about unfortunate the names of the "guards" were.  They changed each week and gave a whole new meaning to Number 2s and Number 1s.   

BTW I was "lucky" enough to own two Leyland products:  a wonky Morris Marina is a kind of sick orange colour and a rather crappy yellow Mini Metro.  'Nuff said.

I think that vomit colour would have been "harvest gold" as I had an MGBGT in the same colour until I had it sprayed JCB yellow. I then called it my JCBGT! I also had a very slow and unreliable Mini 1275GT which was back at the garage more often than I had it and an Allegro which was actually not a bad car once I had got it through an MoT. I got it cheap because one of the Hydrogas pipes that link the gas shocks together had rotted through.  Tongue-in-cheek I got a bit of hydraulic hose and 4 jubilee clips, cut out the rotten bit  and put in a join. At that time lots of garages could pump up the suspension system so I got that done, took it for an MoT and it passed!

fidobsa wrote:

I think that vomit colour would have been "harvest gold" as I had an MGBGT in the same colour until I had it sprayed JCB yellow. I then called it my JCBGT! I also had a very slow and unreliable Mini 1275GT which was back at the garage more often than I had it and an Allegro which was actually not a bad car once I had got it through an MoT. I got it cheap because one of the Hydrogas pipes that link the gas shocks together had rotted through.  Tongue-in-cheek I got a bit of hydraulic hose and 4 jubilee clips, cut out the rotten bit  and put in a join. At that time lots of garages could pump up the suspension system so I got that done, took it for an MoT and it passed!

"Harvest Gold" - now that's probably against some false  or misleading advertising law. But indeed that's the one.  A classic in mis-marketing.

The Allegro was famous for that gas suspension and the weird square steering wheel.   My parents had an Austin 1800 which wasn't bad as it had plenty of space but also that pushrod "ticking" engine.  My Dad also had a thing about the Austin Maxi as the dog could go in the back.   

These Leyland cars all had the same kind of engines as the 1275 Mini GT.  That was actually a pretty good car performance wise.  I used to work in a car parts place and some fella used to come in and he had a Mini with a 1750cc engine in it.  It was lightning fast.  Quite a thing. 

Probably the worst one I ever went in was the wedged shaped automatic Austin Princess.  It's consumption was measured in litres per mile of  oil!  About 1 pint of oil per 100 miles!

The offending article:

Not that many years ago I did a load of welding on the floorpan of a Marina estate for a friend in Scotland. The fit of the tailgate was so bad it looked like it had come off a different make and model of car but I later looked at others and they were all like that! The problem with my Mini 1275 was it would overheat at anything over 70. I had bought it on HP from a dealer because I was completely skint but was starting a first job after college and needed to commute from Coventry to Redditch (about 30 miles).  It came with 3 months warranty and they used to lend me a Mini estate when I took mine in for repairs. I could get to work quicker in the estate as I could go flat out without it overheating! That Mini was only 5 years old but I had to patch up holes in the bodywork soon after the 3 month warranty expired.

fidobsa wrote:

Not that many years ago I did a load of welding on the floorpan of a Marina estate for a friend in Scotland. The fit of the tailgate was so bad it looked like it had come off a different make and model of car but I later looked at others and they were all like that! .....

My particular Marina had incredibly vague steering.  Stuck a pry bar under the bushes on the front lower control arm and it moved about 1/2".   Despite replacing them, never seemed to be able to be able to fix it.    Marina was quite reasonably sized body wise, large boot, good 5 seats but mine was a 1.3L and totally underpowered.  0-60 in about 1 minute!   

Eventually I had had enough, and I traded it in for a Fiat Uno.   That's another story!

We Americans always loved the design of British cars.
In Cal. we / my step-dad  and siblings were rather strange in our taste for European cars way before it became the "chic" thing to drive.
In the 1960's my step-father had 3, I do mean 3 at one time, Peugeot cars, 1 was a wagon.
Later he picked up a funky Opel which I later bought off of him.
He later bought a Japanese car way before the 1973 oil prices.
At age 19 I had a MG hardtop, fastback style in baby blue.
Before my husband and I became serious, my old boyfriend bought a Triumph TR 3 if I remember correctly, he was a rather "cheap" guy most times but when I told him it was over with us, he came into my place of work with this car he had bought for me if only I would come back to him.
Me being a "nice girl" didn't take him for a "ride" told him thanks for the car but no thanks, can't buy me love after all.
I did however take it for a short spin, it was fun didn't even want to think about how it would ever get fixed if it broke down in Calif.
My older sister was interesting in her day with her choice of odd cars. She drove a Volvo PT... a tiny red car like the tv spy the Saint drove, it had a rusted out floor board on the passengers side, I remember when ever we would go driving through  the Canyons at top speed she would tell me not to press too hard with my feet or I would be doing a Fred Flintstone! She actually had a cookie sheet on the floor of the car!
Her first car she bought off of our parents, it was my mom's old 1957 or 58 White Caddie, white leather seats and all, my sister used to drag race the streets of LA with it until if just fell apart. My mom just about cried her eyes out when it was towed away to the junk yard.
Another one of her hot rods was a VW bug, just a normal looking car but she spent a ton on having her mechanic friend put in a racing transmission ,  racing tires,suspension, engine  it basically was a Porsche with a rusted out VW body, literally her headlights were held on with duct tape!
It was a blast however, she could care less about what anyone thought, We would be in this junk heap in Hollywood or in Beverly Hills, people would look at the car like, wow is this thing going to make it or not, then she would hit the gas and leave all the cars behind her in dust.
Crazy, she too had a even nicer car given to her by a boyfriend, he had it custom painted in pink for her. It was a BMW in the late 1970's.
Brand new too. She also told him where he could put his new car, not sure why we girls in my family have not learned to get the owners papers before telling someone to go away!
I was once offered a Ferrari by a insane Hungarian man who we knew, he was out there mentally. Maybe having a nice car doesn't mean much to me after all, always drove my own cash and carry cars, never took any gift cars, too many stings attached.
Dang it, at my age now I guess I would be lucky if some man wanted to buy me a bus pass!!!

Just a note about that Ferrari... This HU man was 100% out of his mind at the time when he offered to buy me one of those.
I was a married women with a 9 year old child at the time. We were helping him during his recovery from a serious accident and he was about to come into a ton of money.
He again was probably just joking but he asked me to "run away with him" and he would buy me that car.
Some people think money will buy anything or anyone.
No thanks, if having such a car was my goal in life, it would be so easy to buy my own car!
Trying for peace, harmony and happiness is allot harder to acquire.

Gesh, husband just spent over 3 hours on skype with our son in Vegas trying to talk him through a brake job on his car!!
Poor kid has two left thumbs when it comes to DIY.
I still have no idea why he has not yet found himself a trustworthy mechanic in all these many years.
Skype with the web cam did come in handy, almost done with the job, just need the old test drive!!! That's the scary part!

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Gesh, husband just spent over 3 hours on skype with our son in Vegas trying to talk him through a brake job on his car!!
Poor kid has two left thumbs when it comes to DIY.
I still have no idea why he has not yet found himself a trustworthy mechanic in all these many years.
Skype with the web cam did come in handy, almost done with the job, just need the old test drive!!! That's the scary part!

He could always look on Youtube for future jobs.  Lots of car fixing videos there usually for specific models.  I'm generally fixing my own cars these days (lack of Customer Care here).  Youtube has become my go-to place for home based vehicle mechanics.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Poor kid has two left thumbs when it comes to DIY.

I love DIY. Helped renovate one house in the USA and ours here in Hungary. Always doing something DIY around the house.

Except for cars. I could not care less about cars. Car has a problem, I drive it to a mechanic. DIY in many ways means being interested enough to learn how to do it Yourself (that is the "Y" part in DIY). And I have never been interested in cars. And there are many, many forums on auto repair, where hundreds can help out with good advise with questions. No need to bug the parents, IMHO. And probably would have been fiscally cheaper to just get a mechanic to do the work (given the hours multiple people spent on this one issue versus the time their time was actually worth in total).

It doesn't matter how many miles you are away.  If your big boy needs you,  he needs you.
Sometimes you can only advise them and they just want to listen to someone who is interested in their issues.