Liking old things contributes to one's character.

Covering All Four

by F William Broome 2006

It is an old but cared for car, and I love it.
Love the smell of it, the chug-a-lug of its engine,
and love taking it out on a long drive, alone,
since driving it wears on me like an old sweater,
after five days in the mobile straight jacket of
my sleek and quiet corporate car.

Anything old loses something along the way,
and my car lost one of its wheel coverings.
So my wife’s older brother and I began
searching the used auto marts and junk yards
for a matching one, but after several long hours,
not one was found.

My brother-in-law, who often shows signs of
cleverness, solved the problem by suggesting
that we find two old coverings that matched,
and put them on the side of the missing one,
since no person could see both sides of the
car at the same time. Since we did just that,
no one has ever noticed such demonstrated
genius in a brother-in-law. .