"Al, bent over the wheel, kept shifting eyes from the road to the instrument
panel, watching the ammeter needle, which jerked suspiciously, watching the
oil gauge and the heat indicator. And his mind was cataloguing weak points
about the car. He listened to the whine, which might be the rear end, dry;
and he listened to tappets lifting and falling. He kept his hand on the
gear lever, feeling the turning gears through it."
"Listen to the motor. Listen to the wheels. Listen with your ears and with
your hands on the steering wheel; listen with the palm of your hand on the
gearshift lever; listen with your feet on the floorboards. Listen to the
pounding old jalopy with all your senses; for a change of tone, what a
variation of rhythym might mean. That rattle - that's tappets. Don't hurt
a bit. Tappets can rattle till Jesus comes again without no harm. But that
thudding as the car moves along - can't hear that - just kind of feel it.
Maybe oil isn't gettin' someplace. Maybe a bearing's startin' to go..."
The Grapes Of Wrath
John Steinbeck
It was near life and death for the people Steinbeck was writing about, but
does it strike a chord?
PaulH.
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