Today I carried my Pa's tool box.
It was during the week that I had a craving for some Chinese food. There is this place in Irving I like to go, to bring some home. I save my fortune cookie to eat it later. A while later I'm looking for my cookie. I could not find my cookie. I retraced my steps. I knew I had seen it but did not remember where I had placed it. Turns out I had thrown it away. Yes I decided to look in my trash and there it was still in its wrapper. I said to myself, how could I have thrown my fortune away. I opened it up and it read "you will do something different this weekend". I kept it like I keep all my fortunes. Just so you know fortunes are never true or actually happen it's just a fun thing to read. Almost like getting a fortune that belongs to someone else in this universe or just a pick me up note that needed to be read that day.
It was nearing the weekend and I had that fortune still in my head. I kept thinking what if anything indeed happened this weekend that would be out of my norm.
A while back my dad had been wanting to go to the Pick n Pull. The Pick n Pull you ask? It's a place where cars end up after they no longer have life. Cars that no longer are drivable end up in a place called Pick n Pull. You search for body parts that you need by picking a car and pulling the parts from it to replace them on your car. It's also a sad reality to think that these cars end here because of accidents.
When I was little my dad would take me with him. I do not remember if I liked going or if I went because my dad was going. All I remember was that I liked to explore. It was like a playground for me. I used to go a lot with my dad. It was the cheapest way to find parts for his vehicles. As I got older I stopped going with him.
Forward a few years later in life my close friend turned out to be a mechanic. I became that friend that would accompany him. As he picked parts I would wander around looking for things that amused me. I was an adult feeling like a kid again. I started going with him almost every month.
On my unplanned weekend I called my dad and said "Pa you want to go to the Pick n Pull?" By the time I got to the house he had his tool box ready. The last time I had gone to the Pick n Pull was over a year ago. I'm going to go ahead and tell you that I was more excited than usual to go. It's not a place for children and not a place for women. If you have ever gone to a Pick n Pull then you can see It's not a safe place for children and it does not have a woman's vibe. There is an entrance fee but because I'm a lady I got in free. I laughed a little inside when he said ladies get in for free. It felt like the times the ladies get in for free at the club. We wandered up and down left and right till we found what we were looking for. We hit the car part jackpot it felt like the car was there waiting on us.
The years are catching up with my Pa. He does not carry the same strength as when I was little. As he would stop I would walk around to see what I could find. I do not know if he ever lost me when I went with him when I was a little girl. Now a grown woman calling out for my Pa because I lost him.
You would be surprised with the things you find at a place like this. Since I like taking photos it has a totally different meaning for me. When I would go with my friend he noticed I would take pictures and there would be times I think he would take me so that I could explore. My Pa would take me so that he would have company.
I guess you could say that for once my fortune cookie came to be true. It's a place out of the norm that I ended going to this weekend. I try to keep memories like this with me. When I would go with my friend it reminded me of when I was little. Reminded me the times I would go with my messy hair and come home with my dirty grease hands.
When it's time to leave you go to the front desk to pay for your car part. What made this an awesome visit was the person at the desk let us have the part for free. Crazy to think about the things that bring me joy. Maybe fortunes in a cookie are meant for oneself to make them happen.
