I've always preferred other means of transportation, but the car is to America what the bicycle is to China. Who knows, maybe that will change. Today was car maintenance day. I don't really know how to maintain a car.

My dad told me that oil changes were a waste of money. So it's been a year since I've gotten one for the car my mom and I share. So today he told me to check the oil. I don't know how to do that. We discovered that the oil was severely low. How do you solve the problem? Walk to KMart, buy oil and put it in the designated valve. Too complicated for me. My dad also mentioned that I should check my front right tire, as it was prone to leaking air. Sure enough it was on the low side. I grabbed some quarters and went in search of air.

Air is everywhere, but not when you need it. I visited every gas station in town trying to get air. Out of order here, put a quarter in here and it doesn't work here, and we don't have air here! Finally I found a place that was charging 75 cents for air ... I was desperate. So I placed my money in the slot and attempted to put air in the tire. I thought I was doing it right until I noticed that all I was doing was letting the air out of the tire. My tire was now half flat and I had no money. I drove the car a mile or two down the road back home as the car sunk to the right.

I called my dad, "Dad, I have a problem, I accidentally let the air out of my tire and now it's almost flat. How do I put air in it?" I got my explanation, grabbed some quarters and looked for a different gas station. On the third try he rose again, in fulfillment of the scraped tires.

I found a gas station, 3 miles from my house. The air here was free but I couldn't work it. There was no on/off button or quarter slot ... just a hose. I fumbled with it when out of nowhere a man and his wife pulled in also to get air.

"I don't know how to work it."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll do it for you. See, this hose is pressurized, it does it for you automatically."

The wife sat in the car and said to her husband, "Oh here is the pressure gauge, check the pressure," as she handed the metal contraption to her husband from the window.

"What would you like it at, son?"

I quickly said 30, remembering what dad had said on the phone. Otherwise I'd have said "whatever is best."

The wife said, "Oh check his other tires, they might need air too." And that solved the half flat tire conundrum. I graciously said thank you to the couple and they were more than obliged to help. I drove off and looked at their license plates ...California. What a nice couple.