Rely on your car, but be vigilant too!
Once upon a time, there lived a middle-aged couple. They had recently celebrated their golden anniversary according to their traditional customs, and now their life was rolling along. Their children had grown up long ago, left the parental house, and their grandchildren had settled down too and did not need to be cared for by their grandparents.
The grandfather, with relation to the grandmother, always felt his responsibility and seniority (he was five years her senior), and he supervised the home and was a good driver of the Mazda which was considered to be the grandmother’s. The car was a little old, but it drove well after some repairs; this made the family confident that the van was reliable. We will return to the description of the car later.
The old and the young both dream of time machines—but kids want to use them to go 20 years into the future, while the elders want them to go 50 years back!
The old couple had already been retired for ten years. Their age allowed them to take a break from work, travel, and sightsee other cities and countries. How wonderful! Ivan Ivanovich and Maria Petrovna enjoyed a well-deserved rest! How beautiful!
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The retirees in our story didn’t fall into any of these categories. They only did things they liked to do—travel and learn about new places.
Ivan Ivanovich Tarasov was a tall, slender man, with gray curly hair, gray-blue eyes with long eyelashes that shone with joy—a fit, attractive, middle-aged man. He had graduated from a technical college, specializing in communications, and, later, a university. The old man was proud of his education and used it throughout his life; he could repair any electronics, from TVs to other household items.
He loved listening to classical music. His favorite expression was, “Music should be loud!” And he would often play his favorite music as loudly as possible! It contented him—how nice it is to immerse oneself in the world of music! He would exclaim with glee and admiration, “Oh, how beautiful!” “It’s just a delight!” The music would thunder with all its might, the listeners’ eardrums would literally burst, and meanwhile Ivan Ivanovich was delighted and serene.
His wife, Maria Petrovna, loved everything to be in order. Before retiring, she had worked as the head of personnel at the state’s Institute of Civil Works—she was used to leading people. Tall, with short, dark hair and brown eyes, she complemented her beloved husband. But the husband was in charge of the house—as Ostap Bender once said: “I will command the parade!”
There was love, tenderness and sympathy between this couple. How wonderful! Some might even envy this!
Ivan Ivanovich loved driving while humming his favorite tunes, smiling. Sometimes, he would forget where he was and his foot would accidentally slip and press the accelerator. The car would accelerate and break all of the rules of the road! How fun! An old proverb says, “The better you drive, the sooner you’ll arrive.”
Ivan Ivanovich thought to himself, “There’s still gunpowder in the barrel, after all!”
Let us recall a classic quote:
What Russian doesn’t like driving fast? When you drive fast, it’s as though a force drags you away and you feel yourself fly—and everything flies by you, too: the forest of fir and pine trees, the sounds of crows cooing and trees being cut down, and the road as it recedes away into the distance. Even something terrible flickers by for a moment. Oh goodness, troika! As fast as a bird! Who invented you? (Gogol, Dead Souls)
On one beautiful winter day, the couple decided to go to the neighboring city to run some errands. They gathered their things, grabbed a snack and a couple water bottles, got into their car in joyful mood and drove off! The weather was wonderful, and the trees passed by them through the window. Oh, what a delight!
Ivan Ivanovich continued to accelerate, becoming more and more excited as the trip went on.
Maria Petrovna was becoming increasingly nervous on this crazy trip. Not so long ago, she had injured her hand, and it still hurt. Yet, there she was, sitting in a car that felt like it was zooming on a racetrack! She kept her thoughts to herself and simply sat, apprehensive and nervous.
Their Mazda van was in good condition, although it had been running for about 20 years. Of course, over the years, it needed some maintenance and repairs, but overall it was in good shape.
Suddenly, the car began to slow down, and then stalled—it had to be parked on the side of the road. Ivan tried to turn the ignition, but it didn't budge! The car did not want to move, but it was happy to roll back a little. What a shame!
Out of frustration, the intelligent gray-haired man muttered some swear words… his wife was shocked! “My God!” she thought to herself, because my husband was always so polite. Goodness, gracious!
And all kinds of cars were racing along the highway—from small cars to huge trucks—and their own car swayed from their movement. The cars whistled by, tires rustling… what were they to do? They shouldn’t just stand by the side of the road, because soon it will get dark! Cars kept driving by, even after having seen the couple’s misfortune. It was Sunday, and everyone was in a hurry about their business.
It was good that our couple had their own phones! They pulled them out and started calling their relatives… but nobody answered!
Finally, the exhausted old couple decided to call their eldest son and tell him what had happened. And soon, help arrived! Their son had called a tow truck, and they had to wait for it for 40 minutes! It was good that they had taken some food with them; they ate it and drank some water. At one point, (oh, joy!) a policeman had driven up to them and asked if they needed help, but the tow truck was already on the way! The policeman quietly left.
We had to stand on the side of the road with the hood of the car raised!
Cars flew by—all we heard was whoosh after whoosh.
Finally, the tow truck arrived. The driver quickly rolled the Mazda onto his truck, then invited the couple to climb into the truck’s cockpit. Maria Petrovna looked at the high steps in terror, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to climb them—let alone with just one hand! After several attempts, she told the driver, and her precious husband asked him to have the wife sit in the bus. The driver agreed. So, for about forty minutes, the woman was shaking in her car, which rocked as it was being transported, her hand aching and hurting all the while.
But all bad things come to an end! The old couple finally got home safely. The car, meanwhile, was waiting to be repaired.
Ivan Ivanovich and Maria Petrovna had a “wonderful” ride!