The Car Wash Trick

We need rain. I think the whole East coast needs rain. So I did what I usually do when I need it to rain. I went and got my car washed. Since my car lives outside, getting it washed means it gets dirty faster, especially if it rains.

There is one flaw in my plan. I now have unlimited car washes from rip tide, formally the Durham Ritz. They are the best car wash. I used to like when they were full service, but I find the do it yourself way it is now very satisfying. The reason this is a flaw is if it rains I can run my car back through the car wash for free. So the magical power of washing my car to get it to rain might have disappeared.

I am sorry my father is not alive to enjoy the unlimited nature of the monthly car wash pass at Rip tide. He would have been in heaven, where he might be now, but that’s not guaranteed. He was a man who loved a good car wash. I would say 27% of my childhood weekends were taken up at the car wash with my Dad.

If he had a pass to the car wash he would bring the car there every three to four days. He would say it’s not good for the car to go everyday, even though he would want to.

He was also a nut about the weather and that is probably how I came to be superstitious about washing the car and getting it to rain. Of course my Dad saw the rain as a bad thing, but climate change had not taken over in the 1970’s. We were much more concerned with people throwing trash out if their car windows at Indians, (who we now know are native Americans).

Native Americans, never appeared in cars in the 1970’s, they didn’t need to, they had rain dances. I guess that is what I need now. A rain dance by a real Native American. The car wash just isn’t doing it.