11 June

Meet Klue, A Fine Thumb Wrestler

by Jon Katz
Meet Klue, Thumb Wrestler

Klue is from Thailand, he is the youngest member of the refugee soccer team, and doesn’t get to play as much as he would liked. We were both sitting on the bench yesterday cheering on the refugee soccer team yesterday when I challenged him to thumb wrestle, thumb wrestling is my sport, my only sport.

I thought I would win easily, and I was wrong. He has strong fingers and  fast thumb, and he beat me fair and square the first time. I won the second time. We split another two games, he won the final game.

Maybe I’m just getting older, but he is very fast and very strong, my days as a champion thumb wrestler may be over. If so, I am happy to cede the title to Klue, he is a kind, funny and strong young man.

11 June

Would You Buy A Used Car From This Man? We Did!

by Jon Katz
Buying A Used Car

Don’t let anybody tell you that all independent used car salesman are slimy.

We found a nice one and bought a used car from him this morning.

Maria did some first rate haggling and got herself a red Hyundai Accent with 93,000 miles on it. She insisted the brakes and pads be replaced, and Jerry, who has been selling cars for decades, agreed and they had a deal.

Maria’s beloved and much maligned (by me) Yaris bit the dust Friday with a rusted out axle. I went scouting on a small used car business nearby run by Jerry and his two sons, and found this simple four-door red sedan. Maria checked it out and loved it. So it’s hers.

Jerry and his sons are all nice and  honest, and extremely low-key. It was as pleasant an experience as buying car gets.Maria wrote a check for the full amount, we have no car payments, but then, no money either.

Lots of people in my town buy used cards from Jerry including Charlie, our mechanic.

Jerry is not into high pressure or tricks. We did some negotiating. Maria was cool and clear, Jerry was smart and  very pleasant.

We did well. We aid cash, no payments, clean car with no real problems. And no bank account left either.

Maria and I  a good team. Like everyone else, we were not planning to buy a car just now, but life is like that, it runs on its own schedule.  And she got a decade out of that little lawn mower with tires.

These are her cars, old and new, and I stayed out of it.

I enjoyed watching her go at it with Jerry and kept my mouth shut,  I was not needed. I did have this thought that I didn’t want to be a man who took over this process from a woman. No need to worry, and Jerry picked right up on the dynamic. Maria was in charge.

Jerry was firm, but we got to a good place, Maria got the car for $6,650.  She decided in advance not to go higher than $7,000. She will pick up the car tomorrow, new brakes and all.  The Yaris goes to the junkyard.

I admit to disliking the Yaris, although it served Maria well. I never quite got over the trauma of watching her sail  off to work in blizzard after blizzard our first winter together in that little car with no snow tires.

She always made it through even the worst storms, but I named the car the “Toilet Bowl” and never forgave it for scaring me every Sunday all winter. I had finally found the love of my life and this little car would take it away, I feared. The car never did fail her.

There was nothing wrong with the car, it was me who was broken. But that was then and this is now. The Hyundai even has four  doors, a luxury for Maria. I hate to see the bank account take a big hit, but this turned out as well as buying a used car can turn out.

Everybody says the police love to pull over red cars, but Maria doesn’t drive all that much and she never speeds.

I won’t assume that small independent car dealers are sleazy. Jerry is  nice and straightforward person. I would recommend him without reservation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

11 June

Arm Wrestling With Klue, The Refugee Soccer Team

by Jon Katz
Arm Wrestling With Klue

I went to the Brunswick, N.Y. to cheer on the refugee soccer team, the Albany Warriors. They were planning one of the wealthiest soccer teams in the area, they have their own complex with three different fields and their own dressing room.

More than 100 parents and relatives of the Brunswick Team showed up to cheer them on, Maria and I were the cheering section of our team, along with Red.

The soccer kids are used to this, they have been playing wealthy and well-funded teams for some time now.

The opposing team was a mighty army, scores of them, many “giants” as the refugee kids called them.  It was true, some of the kids on the opposing team were huge.

it was a practice game, Ali brings them there to play against a top team and learn to figure it out. During the game, I challenged Klue, one of the younger members of the refugee team to a thumb wrestling match, which Red watched intently. He is the team mascot, although many of the kids also  love Fate and love to race her and chase the soccer balls with her.

Klue was a tough thumb wrestler. If kids are over five, I do not ever let them win, I always play to win and I am pretty good. Klue is very good. We battled to a two-game each drawn. I told him he has a very fast thumb.

11 June

Checking Out Maria’s New (Used) Car With Charlie

by Jon Katz
Maria’s New Car

Friday, Maria got word that her decade-old Yaris has a rusted out axle and had to be sold. That afternoon, I did something I have never done before, I went to a local used car independent dealer  and spotted a 2014 Hyundai Accent that had just gone on sale for $7, 500.

I am learning that contrary to their bad public image, some independent used car dealers can be quite honest and low-key.

We learned that it had been owned by one man, a churchgoer (he left literature in the back) who kept the car clean and put 93,000 miles on. Maria took it for a test drive late Friday afternoon and she liked it. We’ve been checking out ever since.

This morning, we took it to our mechanic, the very honest and skilled and conscientious Charlie Shussler at Rushinksi’s Automotive Repairs – we are very loyal to Charlie, he is just great to know and work with. He gave us the okay to buy the car, and also advice on what to ask for and on what to pay.

Gene, our dealer, said he was fine with our taking it into see Charlie and getting it checked out. Charlie put it up on the lift – he insisted we go over the car with him – and checked it for rust. He is very pleasant and leaves us alone to look at the car.

Charlie went over every inch of it. Maria has already been online checking reviews and Blue Book estimates of worth.

Charlie also drove it with us. He found some brake issues that need attention, but otherwise said the car was in good shape – no rust, no engine problems. He went on carfax.com to check out the history of the car – no accidents, no problems. He explained the mechanics of the car, most of which I could not follow.

Maria did better.

This is the most pleasant car buying experience I have ever been around in my life. We haven’t had to drive more than two miles to find a car, test drive it, get it checked out. Honestly, it is quite a pleasure to buy a car from someone whose business is just down the road and who is not a high-pressure car salesperson at a big dealership.

We’re going to talk to Gene, the dealer shortly, and we’ll make him an offer that we can afford. We hope to pay cash and have no car payments to pay off. Maria is going to do the negotiating, I’ll be on hand if needed. I doubt I will be needed. Maria knows how to take care of herself.

More later. If this works, it will be a remarkable thing, 72 hours between the time one car dies and another is bought, with no angst and without even leaving town.  Everyone says the same thing about the dealer, he is honest and aware that this customers live nearby and drive by his lot almost daily.

We know lots of people who buy cards from him, (including Charlie). No  BS sales trucks or pressure.

Most prejudices and assumptions are just that. Just like there are good dog breeders and bad dog breeders and good rescue groups and bad rescue groups, so there are good used car dealers and bad used car dealers. As always, we have to figure out which is which.

I am grateful to be living in a small town.

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