Then, of all things, I saw a hole-in-the-wall where they seemed to do nothing but repair Harleys. I went up to the owner and asked if I could borrow a tool, a wrench to tighten my oil sensor. (My Beemer fumed in the background.)

No doubt he'd seen it before. He brought out a crescent wrench and said, What you really need is piece of wood. Jam a stick in the hole.

What? Won't it catch fire?

Nope, doesn't get hot enough.

But I'm going to Seattle.

It'll be okay.

(As if I had any choice but to believe him.).

So I took out the oil sensor, left it dangling from its wire. Found a stick I whittled to fit in the gaping oil hole. Got it in tight and was on my way again.

If I ever harbored ill-will toward bikers, I had none after this experience.

Put it this way, you, too, could be stuck in some no-name town with a reluctant car. Your new friend might be the next biker you see..

Read more ...
(click to enlarge image)

Read Charlie Dickinson's story collection, The Cat at Light's End, as an ebook in these downloadable formats:

.mobi (Kindle)
.epub (most other readers)
.pdf (for PCs)

Also, a flash fiction, "Ylena Thinks Nyet," is at Cigale Literary Magazine.