Resonance in Denver

†his is a true story for my son, who learned to play the Diesel game from an idiot in the family.

During the 80s, if you are or were of that time, distances across mountain areas covered with ice and snow and a scary place called Wolf Creek Pass, 10 thousand feet high covered with snow and ice, iy semed inconsequential, a long hilly drive, a few hours from where we lved in Durango, Colorado. What it was, was an eight hour scary drive. When your 82, you dont even think about it. It lies in a white snowdrift of the past, way past reason.

30 or 40 years ago, it seemed like nothing. And there was a Diesel in Denver that  could be available to me.
A diesel, the first one was an exciting thought. The idea of a car that ran on fuel that would not light if you threw a match in it, was both cmforting to a family man, seemingly much safer than driving on gasoline, and much more economical.
The only problem which could happen was getting water mixed in with the fuel, or very frigid temperatures during whic time the fuel could suffer and cause the same problem.
Water and Diesel dont go together. I remember reading that Rudolf Diesel, maybe thats his name) drowned from jumpimg into the oceanDiesel and water, or Diesel in water, dont do well..

more than anything, the thought ws of a different kinf of car, something really rare, and it was a Fench car, from a place where I had studied and played music Peugeot was its name.
Driving arounf western colorado in that thing was euphoric, at least in thought.

I GOT TO THE DEALERSHIP BEFORE THEY CLOSED< AND WAS BACK ON THE ROAD IN MY NEW peugeot in an hour, driving quickly though the manual transmission, tough noticing almost constatt vibration through the entire vehicle. Noisy as well. The only saving grace was the diminishing noiseas zI went faster.
I got about halfway to Durango when Isimply changed my mind. It became a rattly noidy clttery drive.

So, being nuts, I changed my mind, turned back to Denver, found the shop still open and tried to return the thing.I was confronted with a large person of indeterminute background . He simply called the vibration something else, He called it resonance, pronounced nicely , with command. It sound much nicer, more gentle and correct, than vibration.

So, convinced, i drove the resonant pile of vibration back to Durango, al in the same night, and had achieve my fist Diesel.
Besdes being resonant, one cannot have a flat tire fixed because there is nor gas station having the tools thatfir the rim/

an one more thing, there were only one station that sold diesedl fuel with a filler that would fit into the small gas tsnk of my car.

But things have improved, or at least changed. Diesel was about 37 cents a gallon at the thime. The folks in Detroit grabbed that dog like a bone and made the fuel more expensive than ordinary gasoline. Diesel fuel is now more expensive that gasoline.

So, with Diesek, oneis driving something different, and on a highway in the West one might not find a deisel station for many miles.

Combined, my son and I HAVE OWENED PERHAPS 30 OF THISE DIESELS. IT IS A DISEASE.

SHERMAN FRIEDLAND.

 

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