Steve,

I don't think that your "excuse me" was necessary. You made a very fair request.

I am sure that I am not the only one who frequents this forum that appreciates very much your scientific approach to diagnosis. I think that most folks, although they may not specifically thank you, do not take your efforts for granted.

Unfortunately, there are always a few that were not taught to appreciate and respect others and their efforts.

One of my many favorite movie lines is from a movie called 12 Angry Men. It is about a jury deliberation. On the jury is a very polite man who makes several polite comments and challenges about the case. In beginning to make another polite and respectful statement, a not so polite man asks him in a hateful tone, "Why are you so polite all the time?" The polite man quietly responds by saying, "For the same reason that you're not, I was brought up that way".

So, some people are respectful and appreciative and some people are not.

I hesitated to go to this, but I'm going to do it anyway. My father was a "garagemen", an independent auto repair shop owner, a "mechanic" as they were called in those days. About the time I was in junior high school, he then went into the fork truck business, and continued to dirty his hands every day. Much like Steve Brotherton, he was a scientist at what he did. He was an insightful troubleshooter and fabricator. My Dad is a great, honest, and hardworking guy. It always really boiled me, and still does, when people in other professions seem to belittle "mechanics". Hollywood is probably the most guilty at producing this stereotype. They always script a "mechanic" as if he doesn't have enough sense to find his way to work. If repairing a car is so simple that these "Goobers" can do it, why are there so many questions from everyone all the time?

Auto repair work is complex and takes intelligence and many years of experience to get good at it. As far as I'm concerned it demands respect. Anyone who is willing to work hard enough to get good at it, deserves the respect of any other profession, and yes I do mean ANY other profession.

Honesty, hard work, intelligence, study and good common sense deserves respect regardless of the profession. And I'm not totally sure that maybe a "mechanic" maybe even deserves a little more. It's hard, thoughtful dirty work, that many people are not willing to do because they're not dedicated to it enough to sweat and get dirty.

I feel that maybe I'm in a little different position here such that I can rant about this because I'm someone that is not a professional tech, and I'm also someone who understands what it takes to be good at it.

So, that's the end of my rant. Have you hugged a technician today? If not, they deserve it. They are a good example of the honesty, hard work and perserverence that this great country has been built on.

Ranting forever,

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Larry Bible
'01 C Class, Six Speed
'84 Euro 240D, manual, 533K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles