i met an old Chinese woman the other day at a local auto body shop who turned out to be an acupuncturist from Harbin (way up in northeast China by Russia and North Korea). she’s been in the US for 16 years already, having spent the first seven in Detroit with her own practice and the last nine working in an American clinic somewhere on the south side of the city. as we chatted while waiting for our cars, her warmth and candor began reminding me of my late maternal grandmother.
after about half an hour, the mechanic popped in and told her that the reason she was having problems stopping was because the rotors were completely warped and her brake pads had all but disintegrated. repair time was estimated to be three to four hours but she didn’t have time to wait; she had things to do and places to go and so she left.
my grandmother was definitely smarter.
