Whereabouts in New Hampshire
Time for the new puzzler.
This one is definitely automotive. This is a true story. Here we go.
Years ago, an elderly woman came into the shop with her equally elderly car. It was an old Lincoln Town Car.
Huge car. One of those really big cars that takes up so much space, it should have a seat in the UN General Assembly.
Anyway, she's talking to Manny, the youngest of our technicians at the time, and she's explaining to him what she wants done with her car.
Of course, I'm eavesdropping, and she says, "There are two things that need to be looked at. One of them is that I need a tune up."
And all the technicians have been instructed to ask why when someone says they need something like that. So he asks, "Why?"
And she says, "Well, my mileage has been off. The engine seems to be laboring. The power is diminished, and I just know I need a tune up."
Manny asks, "Okay. And what about the second thing?"
She says, "My shift indicator is off. When I'm in Park, it really says I'm in Reverse, and when I'm in Drive, it really says I'm in Two."
He says, "Ah ha! I know what's wrong with your car. What's wrong is that you're not in the right gear. You're in second gear, and that's why your mileage is off, and that's why the engine sounds like it's laboring..."
And she says, "That is not it, young man. I can feel all the shifts when I start driving. It shifts from first to second, and then from second to third, and then if I stomp on the gas, it down shifts like it's supposed to."
So Manny says, "Okay, back to square one. How do you know the mileage is off?"
And she says, "Well, I check it all the time."
And he says, "But you're only getting probably seven or eight miles to the gallon in this big car anyway. Why bother to check it? How would you really know if it was off?"
The woman says, "Every month I take a trip to visit my mother-in-law in New Hampshire. That trip is normally no problem. This time I noticed on my return trip that, when I got back, the thing seemed to be laboring. My mileage was terrible for the whole return trip. And I began to notice all these symptoms."
So he thinks for a second, asks her a few more questions. And then he asks, "Whereabouts in New Hampshire does your mother-in-law live?"
And she says, "Way up north in New Hampshire."
And he asks, "Does your mother-in-law live on a dirt road?"
And she says, "As a matter of fact, she does. It's a lousy dirt road with potholes, and I hate driving there."
And he says to her, "I know what's wrong with your car. You don't need a tune up, and one repair is going to fix everything."
And the puzzler is, what did he learn from this last question that enabled him to figure out what was wrong with her car?
Good luck.
