Mechanics and Doctors

Remember when mechanics took your car for a test drive - and doctors made house calls?

Both of those traditions have passed as those who repair our cars and treat our bodies become more and more specialized.

I'm finding that out with our SUV. Our Isuzu Trooper died while Media Girl was driving on Wednesday. You can probably guess what the chances are of getting a mechanic to look at a car on Christmas Eve.

Friday morning the mechanic finally made an assessment and told me he couldn't find anything wrong with the car. Well, that sounded like good news - but I had my doubts. I reviewed once again with the mechanic everything that Media Girl had heard and observed just before the car quit.

The mechanic finally decided it might be best if he took the Trooper for a test drive.

I called back two hours later to see if things were still good, and was told there was a problem with the transmission.

Bad news - followed by more bad news. The Trooper needed to get towed to a transmission specialist. You can probably guess what the chances are of getting a transmission specialist to look at a car on Christmas weekend.

Is all of this sounding like trying to get an accurate medical diagnosis? The similarities were not lost on me.

Remember when you could take your vehicle to your neighborhood mechanic and he could fix anything short of a bent frame? Remember when a doctor would take the time to listen to what you had to say before handing you off to a specialist?

Sometimes the good old days really were the good old days.

Right now there's nothing to do but sit and wait for the diagnosis.