Gloria, Potholes, and Tim (Part 3)
To make an extremely long story short, Tim eventually was able to find someone to tow the car. This kid by the name of Tango shows up. I was expecting some greasy old skinny guy with gold rings on each finger and a hairy chest showing through the V of his shirt. He was very nice. He even got the shop to take the car even though the place was full.
(Now...before I go into this next rant, please take note that Tawainai is not in any form or fashion a racist and no Hispanics were harmed in the making of this blog.Any idiot who runs around in the middle of the summer in white sheets even though everyone knows who it is because of his obvious speech impedement, truly is one ignorant bastard. Graci.)
We were taken to Firestone which was fully ran and owned by Hispanics and immediately felt relief. I knew they'd get the job done quickly.
And they did!! We got a realignment, all new bolts, and a new rod in less than 5 hours. In St. Louis this would have meant the day was ruined. They'd have kept the car overnight.
So while we waited, we decided to soak up some local walking distance attractions and impersonate Nicholas Cage (it kills LOTS of time). We walked a few blocks and found this cute little dress shop. An antique chandlier lulled us inside. Right after we got in there, it began to rain hard. And out glides Ms. Gloria. Gloria, the owner of the shop, greeted me first with the most warm and concerned smile. She knew I was an outsider and immediately asked where I was from. She let us take refuge in her shop while it rained and gave us some of the best advice on parking and what to see whilst in Chicago. She even fed Tim strawberries. Oddly, now that I think of it, she seemed to KNOW alot before we even spoke. SO for about 15 minutes we stood and chatted.To keep from soliciting any further we, got a card and left once the rain stopped before we were obligated to buy something. Very nice lady...
More later today...im fucking hungry...
curioustomcat:
I think it is some special gene. I do not know how it works as it is a well kept secret. Maybe it works via psionics or just the sense of smell... Somehow true shop owners simple know were you are from! The gene is most widely spread in the Middle East. We once wlaked through the suok in Jerusalem. We did not talk or carry a flag but 90% of the time we were addressed in the right language by the shop owners. 
soix:
You are my hero. 