All’s Well That Ends?

I don’t really know if the TPMS “saga” of my Jaguar F-Type has ended, but I can hope. Yesterday, I took the car to the shop where I had made an appointment about solving the TPMS issue.

The store manager put their very young technician on the case and in about 10 minutes he said that he had successfully programmed the TPMS sensors to the car. The store did not charge me for the service, but the tech said, “If the fault light comes on in the next 10 to 15 minutes just bring back the car.”

I was quite happy, but the joy was short-lived. About 12 or 13 minutes out, and no more than 5 minutes from home, the TPMS fault light came on. (Yes, I saw the movie “Office Space” and am aware of the similarity of TPMS to the dreaded TPS reports.)

When I brought the car back the store manager said, “Well, you need new sensors and programming.” What choice did I have?

A few hours and a few hundred dollars later, although only one-third of the amount quoted to me by the Jaguar dealer for the same job, the car was ready. I drove it home without incident, but even though the job comes with a 2-year/24,000-mile warranty, I suspect I will be a bit uneasy at least for awhile, hoping the fault light does not come on.

Of course, “All’s Well That Ends” is a twist on the title of a famous Shakespeare play, “All’s Well That Ends Well.” At the end of my first season with the Baltimore Orioles, 1988, the now late Larry Lucchino organized an “All’s Well That Ends” party for the entire organization. (I remember talking with Orioles catcher Terry Kennedy during the party about trying to get the team to buy me a new computer with a 386 microprocessor; he was a “computer guy.” Of course, the 486 chip was released the next year. Yep, that was a long time ago and I am old.)

In 1988, the team had endured the longest losing streak to start a season in major league history, losing its first 21 games, as well as the death of Orioles owner Edward Bennett Williams, Lucchino’s mentor, in August. Williams’ death was understandably very hard on Lucchino. I remember putting a note on his desk the day after Williams died quoting Pulitzer-Prize winning author Saul Bellow, “We have a word for everything except for what we really think and feel.”

Again, I don’t know if the TPMS saga has ended, but if it has then that would be a very good thing, indeed. Wish me luck.

 

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This Why Evolution Is True post is among many places reporting the story that the Harvard Corporation, the smaller but more powerful of the school’s two governing boards, overruled the wishes of the school faculty and denied conferring degrees to 13 seniors who were not considered in good standing after participating in one of the many disgusting “pro-Palestinian” protests at American institutions of so-called higher learning. Tough shit for those idiots, including the one who was supposed to begin a Rhodes Scholarship in the fall.

I suspect, however, at some time in the future when the furor has died down, the school will quietly give those idiots their degrees. What did Bill Maher say?

 

All of that childhood tolerance is resulting in grown-up tyrants. It’s no wonder that by the time they get to college, just having to listen to an opinion they don’t agree with is considered an act of “violence.”

 

I weep for the future even though I will not see it.

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I thought I had previously titled a post “Fifties Friday” or “Friday Fifties,” but I guess not. In any event, during a recent outing with my two friends/neighbors who graciously mounted the new wheels/tires on the F-Type, we visited the local Gateway Classic Cars location. One of these is in inventory; in fact, it’s been there for quite some time although not as long as the Kaiser-Darrin that has been on the showroom floor for two years because they can’t find the owner. (They suspect he died; Gateway sells cars on consignment.)

 

 

I used this picture because the car at Gateway Classic Cars is in White. This is hardly the first time I have written about and/or shown the Continental Mark II.

Even though by this time next month the large concrete pad at the south end of the house will be accessible, don’t expect me to buy one of these although I would love to. This is not a modern, computer-controlled car with electronic fuel injection and TPMS, but as only 3,000 were built, I don’t think getting parts would be easy and not too many shops can service this car, even in this car-crazy part of the country. One can still dream, though, but I doubt I will ever be able to say “All’s Well That Ends” as it would relate to the hunt for and purchase of a Continental Mark II.

 

#All’sWellThatEnds?

#IStandWithIsrael!