Duda Blog Import

A Letter from the Owner - April Spaulding, SCR

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

There are millions of words in the English language, but there are only a few that prompt a physical or emotional response. Gratitude is one such word. I've had wonderful experiences throughout my life that have allowed me to see divinity in my life. These were both difficult and easy times yet every one of them has shaped my perspective on gratitude. It wasn't until recently that I realized I had forgotten how important daily gratitude is. While at a local store purchasing stocking stuffers for my family, I checked out and was heading to the exit when a quiet, older woman walked towards me. I stopped, she turned and reached for something in her cart and returned to me with a cellophane wrapped gift and said "Merry Christmas!" I reached for the package pleasantly surprised by the gesture and thanked her. I was so overcome that I reached forward to give the woman a hug which she returned. It wasn't until later that I was reminded of a quote: "God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs." What this sweet lady gave me is exactly what I needed. I'm forever grateful for her kindness.

My best,

April J. Spaulding

An Old Man named Dale - A Christmas Story from Sage Creek Repair

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

You may have heard this story before. You may have even lived it. Doesn’t matter what time of day it happened, or the weather. But for this story, the dark of a winter storm could have meant a quick drop, and an icy plunge off an East Idaho highway.

A young woman presses against the steering wheel with both hands. She’s breathing to herself, eyes tightly shut, baby screaming in the back seat. She’s facing the wrong way on the I-15, looking north to Shelley on the Southbound side of the highway. Not a soul comes toward her from up the dark road, and she can see now the glint of her headlights off of dead, black swaths of the road. Black ice. “We could have died,” she realizes.

Pull over, she thinks to herself. She’s gotta take care of the car, get to a safe spot, then she can get to baby girl. She inches the car around to the proper side of the road and tests the brakes at 5 miles per hour. They barely catch. “What is going on?!” So, she pulls the e-brake, slaps the hazard lights button, parks her sedan, and throws open her door.

After jumping into the back seat, she comforts her daughter, a 10-minute ordeal. She checks her phone, which she learns has 1-percent battery just before it shuts off completely. She can plug it in later. The car is still running fine. But I can’t drive without brakes.

She closes her eyes, rocking side to side as her daughter slowly drifts off to sleep. The young woman nestles her baby back in the car seat, buckles her, makes certain her tiny hat still fits snug. Then she presses up from her seat and, after silently pressing the door mostly shut, uses her hip to bump it closed.

“Howdy there!”

The young woman starts a little, looking behind her car at a large truck with a dually. An older gentleman with a silver toilet bowl of hair on his head beams at her and, even in the dark, his blue eyes sparkle from over his glasses. “You having some trouble tonight?” He approaches with a bundle draped over his arm, slaps his jacket front to stir off the cold air as he shivers.

Do I tell him the truth? I don’t wanna be treated like an idiot. But I kinda deserve it. She could have kept going on that, saying that she deserved a lot of things.

“No brakes,” she calls. “Should’ve gotten’em checked.”

The man’s smile falters a moment, and he surges passed her. “Oh, my… are you alright?”

“As well as I could be, I guess,” she admits, watching him crouch by the driver’s side front tire. “Scared us pretty good, though.”

The older man sniffed the air. “I didn’t wanna say anything, but… I could smell the tires—.”

“The tires,” the young woman nods, a chuckle bubbling up in her, and they both laugh quietly. She takes in a breath through her teeth. “Wound up facing north!”

The man looks up at her, “You’re kidding!”

She shakes her head. The older man stands with a grunt and sighs deeply. He pats his jacket and the woman can see a name tag there. He smiles broadly, his teeth a little worse for wear. “Well, I’m glad I was passing by!”

“Yeah, I… didn’t hear you!” Now that she mentioned it, she couldn’t recall any sound, or lights appearing just before she got out of her car.

The older man smiles warmly, “Name’s Dale! What can I call you?” The young woman shrugs, “Em is fine.”

“Em? Short for Emily?”

“Emma.”

“Some history behind that name, Miss Em!”

“Not a lot of people like it.”

“It’s yours to do with what you like, Em.” Dale laughed. “Just cuz others didn’t do it justice don’t mean you won’t.”

“I haven’t yet,” she mumbles. Dale had just started back to his truck, but he eyes her, making her clamp her mouth shut. Dale and she stood eye to eye now, and she blinks in surprise. His face softens, and he smiles again. He points at her, “Yet.” He chuckles and strides up to his truck.

In forty-five minutes, Dale got the car hooked up to his truck, towed Em and her daughter back to Idaho Falls and pulled up into a little lot off the Yellowstone Highway.

“These guys,” he says with a hushed tone,” should be open another hour or two. They can at least get you some answers.”

Em says nothing. Dale doesn’t either. Em looks up at him, and realizes he’s just looking at the building, painted blue as the summer sky. He has a wistfulness in his eye. She wants to asking him about it, hear his story—.

“You got somewhere to stay?” Again, Dale’s voice is hushed, and she can’t pick up anything but kindness in his voice. “No,” she mumbles.

“Nowhere to stay,” he airs, “or no one to stay with?”

“Same difference.”

“You could stay at a hotel,” Dale shrugs, “or you could bunk over at a friend’s. Or family’s.”

Em winces at the mention of that word. Family. She says nothing, trying to busy herself doting on her daughter, adjusting her hat for the dozenth time, tucking the blanket and swaddle under her chin.

“I always loved this shop,” Dale says, drawing Em’s eye. “Seems it was yesterday it was just starting out, out of a tiny hardware shed off the side of a car garage. Potential. A helping hand. Things I try to live up to.”

Em gathers herself for a moment. “You’ve helped us,” she makes the effort to smile as she says it.

“It’s funny,” Dale continues, “I always thought auto shops and Christmas had a lot in common.”

Em laughs out loud. “Wait… what?!”

“I’m serious,” Dale says, “serious as a heart attack! Techs like these guys work day in and out making sure kids, moms, dads, grandpas like me—they do their best to make sure cars have a second chance! And,” Dale gestures over the hood of his truck, “in times like these, a second chance is just about the greatest gift you can ask for.”

Em cocks her head at him. “Why’s that?” Dale looks her square, a twinkle in his eye. “Cuz second chances are priceless. But they’re also free, if we give them.”

Em blinks at him. Second chances… are free?

“Whelp,” Dale grunts, sighing one of those indulgent sighs again, “let’s get you unhooked! Ask for Brett—he’ll get you taken care of—and, hey.” Just before opening her door, Em stops to look at him, still dazed from the conversation with this man. “Yeah?”

“Let him know,” Dale grins, “I said hi.”

Em searches him, seeing something she can’t place but can’t deny either. “Yeah,” she nods, “will do.” Dale nods in thanks, and the two of them drop to the snowy lot. As her sneakers crunch underneath her, she takes in the lot, a gentle golden light highlighting the warehouse down the way, and the snowflakes drifting lazily to the ground. Em pulls her scarf down to drape over her baby’s face, keeping the snow off. She turns to Dale, “Thanks again.”

He’s gone. Dale, and the truck are nowhere to be found. In their place, her old red sedan sits with it’s headlights on, snowflakes drifting lazily down. She looks and— No way… only one set of tire tracks through the snow?! She looks high and low, but there’s no sign whatsoever that Dale, or his truck, ever existed. Her daughter starts to stir, so she gives the lot one more searching glance, and ducks into the auto shop.

She spends 15 minutes with the technicians there, sharing her info and her car’s issues. She doesn’t mention the spin out she had just north of Blackfoot. Brett comes down, the shop’s owner, with his wife April. The two of them seem nice and, as they chat, they prove to be very nice.

“Yeah,” Em says, “Dale towed me into town after he found me off the highway.”

“Dale?” Brett and April share looks.

Em thinks back on the night’s events. What do I share that won’t make me sound crazy?

She nods, “Yeah, he said to tell you guys hi. Well, he said you, Brett.” Brett nods, and he and April look to one another again. “Just like him,” he says. Brett dismisses himself and heads out into the shop. Em sits, and April offers a cup of cocoa, which Em gladly accepts.

After an initial inspection, the mechanic and the service tech invite Em back to the counter—they can order parts and have them in and installed by 9 am next day. “I can do that,” Em nods. She passes over her card, gets the services paid for, and signs the receipt. Her daughter stirs in her arms again, and Em bounces her gently. April speaks up, “Can we get you dropped off somewhere?”

“How much does that cost,” Em says absently, then immediately regrets it. “I’m sorry, I—!”

“No, it’s ok,” April smiles, “it’s free.” Free , Em remembers.

“Let’s get you to where you need to get to!” April shepherds Em out the front door to the concierge vehicle. Em can’t stop thinking about Dale, about what he said, about what he challenged her to do…

April asks for directions for Google Maps, and Em gives her the address for her parents’ house.

“So,” April strikes up conversation, “how will you spend your holiday?”

Em shrugs, looking down at her daughter again. “Sharing gifts,” she smiles, “for sure.”

Happy Holidays, from Sage Creek Repair!

What Even Is This? - Turbocharged #3

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Hey, it’s Dale with Sage Creek. I ask our technicians dumb car questions so you don’t have to.

Asking dumb questions is a tricky thing. You might know a ‘dumb question’ as a customer in an auto shop, trying as best you can to describe what’s wrong, out of the norm, or just weird with your vehicle.

Asking a dumb question isn’t about the question. It’s about the feeling you get in asking. You feel dumb. But you are not. And that’s the point of this blog.

I ask dumb questions on this blog—I give myself permission to be perceived as uneducated, slow, ‘dumb.’ Of course it doesn’t feel comfortable, I want to be perceived as capable and intelligent. But I’d rather look dumb now than look dumb on the side of some backcountry road.

My background includes how to tell a good story, to educate, and to bring people up to date with good thinking practices. Ironically, the one area I DON’T have expertise in is automotive repair.

If I could give you a short list of car repair topics I’m above average proficiency in, I think it’d be as follows:

If the car is dead, put gas in it, or jump the battery. Or call my auto tech at Sage Creek.
If it’s shifting gears funny, check the oil sticker and get an oil change accordingly. Or just go cuz the transmission is expensive.
If it’s foggy inside my car, turn on the defroster. If it’s hot, turn on the AC. If AC doesn’t work, drink cold water.
Also, I can change a tire in 15 minutes flat with minimal-to-no cursing. No biggie.

There’s something else I have in my arsenal, something that allows me to talk to you about what I’ve been learning from the techs at Sage Creek. That’s curiosity.

Curiosity can help buff, or even remove the nerves that come from ‘looking dumb.’ Curiosity might be motivated by your desire to lower your bill at the end of the service. It might be motivated by your well of knowledge you can use later, to speed up a repair. It might be because you just have a morbid curiosity with how things work, like I do. In my case, my curiosity is aimed at you, to share what I’m learning with you, so you can avoid the pitfalls of auto repair.

Curiosity in itself can be the means of saving money in the long run, speeding up a future service or repair, or even learning how to do something new yourself. I share knowledge freely so people like you can be empowered to make the best decisions for you and your family.

Good questions are never dumb, anymore than increasing a lack of knowledge is. In fact, deepening your knowledge on a subject is about the smartest thing you can do. Here’s to you, you car-repair brainiac.

Thanks for reading! Schedule your next service here: https://www.sagecreekrepair.com/#

Turbocharge Your Holiday - Blog #1

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Hey, it’s Dale with Sage Creek. I ask our technicians dumb car questions so you don’t have to. We’re gonna shift gears (heh) for this one.

I hate Thanksgiving, but I love gratitude. Hard pivot from the technician stuff, I know. Hear me out.

I don’t groan over Thanksgiving for the travel, the weather, the relatives or the rush of it all. Frankly, those things are pretty good for me. One thing I’ve always had issue with this time of year was being grateful ONLY this time of year, like suddenly all the marketing from the stores and brands we trust shifts to gratitude and we’re supposed to jump on board and go for the ride until Christmas time.

Nope. Gratitude isn’t just a nice platitude. It’s why our marketing won’t hinge on it this time of year. Instead, we hope you’ll join us for a bit of an experiment.

We hear stories of individuals who do some great kindness, some service to the community. There are Food Banks in town that throw open their doors, hoping for donations to share with those in need. There are stories of “Secret Santas” whose stories warm the hearts, and even if by some measure we know who it is, we say nothing.

Why?

“Cuz we’re not monsters.” Great, thanks—fantastic answer. Let’s dig deeper. Why don’t we reveal the Secret Santas? Why do we feel compelled to act on behalf of those who are lacking this holiday, or any day of the year?

I have seen some large degree of attitude adjustment that comes when a person practices gratitude in their life—the exercise of personally acknowledging, either outwardly or inwardly, what things they have in their life, and what that thing means to them.

When gratitude is paired with meditation or prayer, three aspects of our individual and collective health begin to improve: mental, physical, societal and physical.

Gratitude allows for an inventory of the things, opportunities, and relationships we value most. This kind of value isn’t in currency or stocks. It’s in the deep, intrinsic worth that can’t be adequately expressed aloud, or even especially in a blog like this.

Gratitude allows us to acknowledge how our bodies function, how they heal, how they move, twist, bend. Where the difficulty comes is where we compare to others, or even our ‘younger’ selves. But a true master of gratitude can lie in a hospital bed attached to a respirator and with a smile say “The flowers smell so good today! Isn’t it nice to smell?”

When we are grateful for the things we have, the cars, the house, the kids, the relatives, the food, the bounty of it all, we might be tempted to treasure that unto ourselves, to bring it close and preserve it for a later day. That spirit of preparation may work for your benefit. But what good is having excess if there are those among us who are struggling? What worth is it for a successful businessman to see a grunt-level worker, to have achieved some great metric or goal, to see someone who works hard for his due, and does nothing to aid him up the ladder?

And if that principle is true in business, why couldn’t it be true with being kind?

The true value of societal gratitude is an acknowledgement of what we have, what we need , and what we can offer others in a spirit of compassion and love. It’s not a handout if you walk alongside someone in need for a time, seeing that they get their feet under them. And it doesn’t take a long, protracted plan or system. It takes a choice. A little choice. Right here. Right now. To make change in the lives of those around you.

Sometimes we think of gratitude as the rose-colored glasses that make us lose touch with reality. Lacking means is one thing. Declining health is one thing. Even relationship management, family, friends , is one thing. But gratitude isn’t ignoring our challenges. Gratitude is seeing the things, opportunities and relationships when have for what they are, and coming to the belief that we can act to change our circumstance, regardless of the current outlook. Gratitude is the first step to see that we do have the power to change our circumstance, to change our situation, to change our relationship, with neighbors, with family, with God, and whoever else we receive that deep, intrinsic value with.

To you, the one reading this, I simply would like to add: I’m grateful for you. You add value to my life, without money, and without price. Thank you for doing your best. Thank you for lifting where you stand. If you feel you have not, or are not living up to that…

Well… there’s always today. Right now.

Join us in the experiment to make gratitude the lynchpin of your morning routine. Find three, four, five things you’re grateful for. The next day, find five more. And so on. If you start today, November 18th, by the time the month is out you’ll have a list of things, opportunities and people 65 items strong.

Funny enough, that’s the same speed limit as some highways.

Set your cruise control at 65 for Gratitude this year. Let us know how it’s going on social media. Share pictures, comments, like—whatever to see how you and others are shifting your outlook.

The Turbo - Turbocharged #1

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Hey, it’s Dale with Sage Creek. I ask our technicians dumb car questions so you don’t have to.

One of the things we see in our shop are trucks with a turbo. As someone who’s never worked with cars I had to ask our Techs: “What is a turbo?”

In practice, some manly men with sloping foreheads might say, “Car go vroom. Turbo make car go VROOM vroom.” And they’re right.

Take a peek at this snail-looking thing.

This is an old turbo belonging to a Ford F-250. Don’t worry, it’s gone to a better place. I got some pics and asked my questions before it was taken to the Big Recycling Yard in the Sky, and I learned a LOT.

Since working with Sage Creek, I’ve learned a vehicle needs three things for the motor to run: a spark, some fuel, and air. The three of these make timed, controlled explosions that force the motor to turn every gear, pulley and belt under the hood. It just so happens that the turbo focuses on the air.

You can see in the picture above that there’s two halves, two swirly snails sitting next to each other. The rusty, corroded snail on this old turbo is what’s nicknamed “the hot side,” and the aluminum, clean snail is referred to as “the cold side.”

During its lifetime, the hot, rusty side of the turbo (God rest its soul) once took in the exhaust coming from your engine before it left the tailpipe. That same air gets funneled into a small fan in the center of our two snail shells. But that little fan does something really cool: it forces the cold side of the turbo to suck in outside air, then compresses it back into the engine.

“Wait, what?” I can hear you say it. But no, really—that’s exactly what happens.

The hot side sucks in the exhaust, which spins the compressor fan. The fan says “bet” and forces the cold side to suck in outside air, pushing the fresh air back through the motor. And if we remember that a motor needs a spark, some fuel and AIR to run, then more air forces the motor to run faster.

If I remember correctly, the manly man once said it best— “VROOM vroom.”

Thanks for reading! Be sure to share this with your motorheads, friends, family, enemies, awkward uncles—we all need to drive safer on the road, after all!

#DumbCarQuestions #Turbo #Ford #Mechanic #Turbocharger #Motor #Compressor #CompressorFan

Something In Common - Turbocharged #2

Sat, 29 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Hey, it’s Dale with Sage Creek. I ask our techs dumb car questions so you don’t have to.

Techs, service writers, grease pitters and shop owners all have something in common, and in common with you: they’ve got bills to pay. They’ve got lights and heat to keep on, food to buy, internet and phone to pay for, and making sure all the necessities are covered enough so they can do something fun with the money left over.

Nowadays, that little extra money is looking extra little. But before we go get mad at “the Man,” let’s go back, WAY back, and learn how this all got started.

Back in the Stone Age, cave men decided that they’d exchange their skills with one another to survive better. Ooga was taller and could forage the best fruits. Booga was thicker and better in a fight.

Turns out, Ooga didn’t want to be a forager all his life. Instead, he went to technical school and got a degree in automotive repair, made a decent living for his wife and two cave-babies. Booga got rich doing the honest work of cage fighting, but he only trusted one friend to take care of his bougie new sports-cars: Ooga. Booga knew that his friend was skilled enough to earn a degree, and was willing to pay him a little extra for Ooga’s experience to ensure his car was taken care of the right way.

Or something like that. I saw a documentary on it one time.

There’s three parts to Booga’s relationship to Ooga we’ve gotta think about. Keep these in mind with your current auto tech and see if they make the cut…

Proficiency. You’re paying for the competency behind an auto tech, the tech’s education and time invested into proper automotive ongoing training to ensure the work is done right, the first time.
Parts. The design and craftsmanship in every component in a vehicle. A better part may be more expensive, but it’ll also be more likely to work properly over time and typically carry a nationwide warranty.
Experience. The quality of service. Don’t just limit yourself to the quality of the technicians, either. YOUR experience, from the front desk to the work on your vehicle, should be considered equally. This includes being able to asking questions, get well-explained repairs, gain access to videos to clarify what a repair does, and receive a digital evaluation to refer to (maybe even get it sent to your phone or email). Honesty and integrity are HUGE for my experience, so I look for this in each service, big or small.

All of that sounds like a key selling point to me. If a tech—heck, if a SHOP—enables me to…

ask questions and not be talked down to… ?
say “NO” to a repair order if it’s not a critical safety issue… ?
have a digital record of my evaluations, so I know what I’m getting into and can take that record for a second opinion… ?

I’m sold. If I have to pay a little extra for that piece of mind, I consider it part of the services rendered.

A bit longer read today, so thanks for sticking it out. If there’s only one things that sticks out to you, I hope it’s this:

Ooga Booga.

We’ll catch you next time!

#AutoRepair #Mechanic #ASECertified #DigitalInspection #TieRodEnds #EngineRepair #OilChange #SageCreekRepair #IdahoFalls #EastIdaho