{"id":102531,"date":"2024-07-31T09:29:06","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T13:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=102531"},"modified":"2024-07-31T09:29:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T13:29:06","slug":"the-old-coot-cleans-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/07\/31\/the-old-coot-cleans-up\/","title":{"rendered":"The Old Coot cleans up"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Merlin Lessler —<\/span><\/p>\n

I washed my car the other day. Actually, it was my wife\u2019s car \u2013 mine is in Florida, braving the hot muggy weather, much hotter and muggier than here. Which is why I cherish my New York State summer residency, in spite of all the state mandates we are forced to live with, not to mention the taxes. <\/span><\/p>\n

Anyhow, I hosed it off, and then got at it with a sudsy mitt and a long handled soft bristle brush. You don\u2019t see many people in their driveways doing this anymore. It once was a Saturday ritual for many men, some women and teenagers lucky enough to have their own vehicles. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to \u201cexperts,\u201d only 28% of automobile owners wash their own cars. It\u2019s off to the car wash for them. It\u2019s down from 50% thirty years ago. We\u2019ve become a commercial car wash society, reported to be a 33-billion-dollar industry, with 60,000 car wash establishments across the country. <\/span><\/p>\n

Waxing a car is something else again. I suspect the percentage of people doing that is pretty low. Even I gave that up years ago; clear coat finishes eliminated the need. Simonize wax was king in the old days. Applying it and rubbing it in took over an hour. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first time I waxed my father\u2019s car when I was a teenager I did the windows as well as the car body. I learned that lesson the hard way. He wasn\u2019t very pleased when he turned on the wipers during a rainstorm to face a blurry mess out the windshield. <\/span><\/p>\n

When I wash my car I consider it an exercise session. A lot of bending, squatting, stooping, stretching and reaching, and I pay myself the $20 a car wash place would have charged me. You don\u2019t have to be an old coot like me to do this. Anyone can.   <\/span><\/p>\n

Comments, good or bad. Send to mlessler7@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Merlin Lessler — I washed my car the other day. 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