Hero In Car Crazy LA!

It is funny how heroes pop up unexpectantly. They can be the man who gives you the last seat on the bus when your hands are full or the lady who gives you the dime you are lacking for your daily cuppa joe. There are heroes all around us if we just take the time to notice them.

My hero today comes in the form of my mechanic, James! I found James when I moved in with Val, my roommate. He has worked on her cars for years and I was looking for a good mechanic. I found one in James. He is honest, fair and because he knows we live paycheck to paycheck in our house, he only charges for parts on the little stuff! The only caveat to James is he doesn't work on the weekends. That is the time he spends with his family so you can't fault him for that!

James is my hero today because he has helped me out of a jam! This is the week before payday, the week where I usually have $50 to my name, if I am lucky! Imagine my dismay when I got in my car after work to find I was driving in pitch-black darkness! No lights! Not a glimmer! Of course, my main thought was "what if I hit a dog" but the cops that passed me and flashed may have given me a ticket to worry about! If I worked during the day, I could wait until I had the money to fix it but I work until midnight so I have to drive at night! No buses run, roommates are usually asleep...I really have no other way to get back and forth to work! I tried replacing the fuse but that wasn't the issue!

Begrudingly I took the car in so it could be looked at! I braced myself for a big bill as car repairs are never cheap, right? Not with James! He looked around and within a 1/2 hour discovered that I kicked some cable loose! I held my breath and asked him what it would cost...$5. FIVE dollars! The beauty of this is that where most mechanics would charge at least an hour for labor and then the parts....James only charged for the little connector that was kicked loose! $5!

James is a hero because in a sea of opportunistic guys that see dollar signs when a woman walks into their shop, he is honest and fair! Sometimes, not fair to himself but fair to us! How comforting and refreshing!