Friday Val and I were going out in the afternoon. I started the car and immediately heard, from under the hood, a sound like there was a set of keys loose inside the engine or some of the parts instead of being attached to whatever they were supposed to be attached to were now traveling in loose formation. Using either analogy not a normal sound for the Malibu and not good either.
We immediately headed to Nick’s Automotive for a diagnosis of the problem. Of course by the time we arrived, about 4 minutes later, the sound was gone so I was stuck trying to explain the location and the nature of the sound so that Nick and Jesse could diagnose the disease. Off we went on our errands wondering what they were going to find.
About 2 hours later we returned to be told that what we had heard was the bearings in the shaft that runs the air conditioning pump starting to disintegrate. Lovely! First problem we won’t have an a/c. More serious problem, if the bearings let go the pulley on the end of the shaft won’t stay in place and that pulley is one the holds the serpentine belt in place. The serpentine belt makes things like the alternator and the water pump work so if the bearings in the a/c shaft let go the whole damned engine comes to a halt. Now a new a/c pump is expensive. The one in my pickup needs to be replaced and a good estimate is in the range of $1,000. The car is almost 8 YO and the odometer is currently spinning through 250,000 km. with retirement slated for sometime next year. Jesse told me that it is possible to remove the a/c pump completely and replace it with a bolt-on unit that will simply hold a pulley to allow the serpentine belt to stay in place. Clear so far? In the meantime Jesse says it is safe to drive the car.
Now for the part of this sad story that is really getting up my nose. As I said by the time we got to Nick’s the sound had disappeared and three days later it has not reappeared. The engine is running smooth and quiet and we still have a/c. What to do, what to do. If we disconnect the a/c we will have to spend the summer with the windows rolled down. Been there, done that. If we continue to drive we run the risk of the bearings letting go and getting stranded somewhere. If we can make it through to September I don’t care if the air doesn’t work. I really dislike phantom noises.
Yesterday I did something I have wanted to for a number of years. I took part in the International Bridge Walk between Sault Ste Marie On and Sault MI. As some of you who read this will know I do not like heights and ladders and looking down from high places so Val was a little concerned that I would get dizzy and fall off.
About 6.30AM I headed to the city and an hour later I was parking at the casino where a series of school buses were lined up ready to take us across the river so that we could walk back en masse. We had all be warned, cautioned and admonished that we should be sure to bring both proof of citizenship and picture id as both US and Canadian Customs were going to be extra vigilant with we bridge walkers. I was on bus #2 and as we approached US Customs on their side of the bridge the driver gave us one last warning about proper id. Two US Border Patrol Agents climbed on board and after a cursory look at everyone’s paper work we were off the campus of Lake Superior State University where we joined our American friends. After a period of sitting, chatting and in my case listening to CBC on my mp3 player it was time to head out but first we had to listen 3 of the lamest welcome speeches I have ever heard. I was about in the middle of the pack and there was a very interesting mix of folks. There were some very elderly folks. There was a large contingent from Curves with matching teeshirts and being herded by a very earnest looking woman who knew everybody’s name and had introduce her 12 year old grand-daughter to all of them. There were teens with Canada flag decals on their cheeks and Canada flags as capes. There was a small group of Boy Scouts who acted as a colour party and led the walk. There were Americans whose every piece of clothing was red, white and blue. There were young couples with the baby in the stroller and small groups of children with a mom or dad somewhere around but who had too much energy to sit and wait for the walk to start.
At 9am sharp off we went. I hadn’t thought too much about it but closing one lane of a two lane international border crossing for a period of two hours or so is a big deal. As we rounded the first corner and started down to the US end of the bridge the traffic was already starting to back up down I-75. 
We had the northbound lane. The pace of the walk was very leisurely with people stopping to take pictures and chatting about the sights. As we crossed the traffic was being lead across one direction at a time in the other lane. Some folks tooted there horns and waved at us while others just looked straight ahead and looked pissed off by the delay.
Just as we were directly over the Poe Locks a 1000′ laker was pulling out of the lock upbound for another load of iron ore from the mines of Minnesota. How often do you get to look straight down on something like that.
About 55 minutes after we started I was coming down the slope at the north end of the bridge into Canada. Remembering all of the warnings I dug out my passport in preparation for the grilling form Canada Customs. There was one lane blocked off for walkers with two officers waiting for us. I got close I realized that they were standing there handing a Canada flag pin to each participant. 427 illegal immigrants could have walked into Canada and received a flag pin for their efforts. Welcome to Canada!