You Got a Fast Car.....I Don't*

This city of Houston is based on the car, they are an essential part of life here. The city lacks any real form of mass transit and any thoughts of walking about in this auto oriented environ are simply insane. That might sound unusual for citizens of other cities around the world where the tube or subway or even decent walking distances are a part of life, but this city grew at a time in history around the car and roads and freeways that populate its landscape. I'm a big proponent of the car as important technology, forget the I Pod, cell phone or your laptop, here the car is the most important piece of technology you can own. They keep you, your friends and family safe, dry and cool in what can easily be described as a most hostile space, a space made of concrete, steal, glass and physics. Physics is in full force and a real danger, if you ever have witnessed a car wreck, you know what two tons of mass couple with velocity can do and more than a few people I know have been involved in some sort of accident with sometimes fatal implications. With that said, in order to get around and do this thing I do, I needed some wheels on the cheap and with few questions asked.

Enter Jim, he owns a baseball school, holds a State of Texas auto dealers license, a shrewd sense of business and was able to score me an auction car and finance it. So for $250 dollars per month, for better or worse, I secured this 1994 Saturn four door.

I've driven some damn good cars in my life, and as anyone who knows me knows, I love a fine automobile, but this is about survival. So frankly, this is without a doubt, the crappiest car I have ever driven, but it has four wheels, new tires, fresh Texas tags,

and brakes that make it stop. Really that is best I can say about it. Well and it has a small 4 cylinder that gets about 24 miles to the gallon, with gas prices at around $3.00 gallon, this is a big plus. The big minus, the Air Conditioning does not work .

It is now late July in Houston and although it has been a mild summer the month of August can be a real scorcher with temperatures easily reaching 100 degrees and heat indexes in the 120's. Navigating this city without airconditioning can be a very real drag both physically and emotionally. Nothing like meeting with prospective investors or bankers or even subs looking like you just ran a marathon. A new A/C compressor or trip to any mechanic in Houston can easily run about 3 to 400 dollars, money I don't have. In desperate need of some cold air I will show you how to quick fix a cars A/C on the cheap.

Tomorrow, I'll show how to fix the A/C for about 30 bucks in about 15 minutes, by adding some freon I bought at the local auto shop. Survival is about trying different things even if they don't work, hopefully this will be the solution I need. So stay tuned and stay hydrated.

*Or ..What I wouldn't do for an S Class Benz