This is a love letter to Lenny, at Meineke on Ridge Road.
It’s also, hopefully, a breakup letter: not forever, but for now.
Ed from the Brownhoist Cider Company sent me to Lenny, when I said I had a Toyota with issues. Ed said, “Lenny will be honest with you about whether he can fix it, whether you should fix it, and whether you can do something cheap and temporary to keep getting to work on time, or should do a real long-term fix that costs actual money. He’s reliable and his prices are fair.”
I showed up panicking, worrying I’d killed my car; Lenny took a look, gave me an estimate, fixed the problems and sent me on my way. And for three years or so, that’s been the routine: I do something completely bizarre to the Prius; I bring it in and worry in the waiting room for an hour; Lenny sends me home with a reasonable bill and a working vehicle. Once he said, “Whatever you break, we will just fix. Can you stop worrying about it?....No. I see that’s not an option.”
I’ve driven that Prius almost six years. I turned it into a mobile office and then into a micro RV and I’ve traveled from Cleveland to Key West and back four times. I’ve hauled all the books and shelving and plants for The Reading Room CLE in it; trees and a bathtub and a vintage stove. We’ve gone 307, 582 miles, and Lenny has fixed all the things I’ve broken, until last week when Allstate said it was time to say goodbye.
Two wrecks in seven weeks: the book value of this 2011 Toyota is finally less than the cost of repair.
I’ve bought a Corolla, Gold Certified Used, with a service agreement that will cover maintenance and repairs at the dealership for the next seven years. Unless I wreck it. If I wreck it, I’ll be back to Meineke.
Lenny, I’m going to do my best to stay away from you and from Meineke for the next seven years or 84,000 miles. I will miss you and your team so much.
But this isn’t goodbye forever; it’s just for now. I’m sure I’ll see you in 2032.
