You know that scene...

...the one in The Graduate, where Dustin Hoffman is at the pool, and the guy tells him he's got "just one word" for him? That scene? Well, that guy was right!

I checked the mail yesterday and was tickled to see a USPS Priority Mail envelope, which meant my brand spankin' new plastic gear had arrived to I could fix the odometer in the Volvo! Hooray. I scurried inside and opened up the envelope.

Now, I have looked and looked at all the pictures on the 'net, and I knew it was supposed to be small, but in real life, you know what? It IS small. Tiny. Miniscule. Petite. Near microscopic. A small translucent white wafer about 4/10s of an inch in diameter, with 25 itsy little teeth marching around the perimeter.

Seems like 29 bucks is a bit on the steep side, but then again, I'm not in plastics. And I suppose it's better to pay $29 than a hundred, or two, to have someone else take out the gauge and replace the eensy little shard of petrochemicals.

Anyway, I can hardly wait until tomorrow, when I get to tear all KINDS of things up trying to fix the thing!

[Originally published on Possumblog on June 3, 2005.]