PegLegs and Me

Picture designed by the magazine When my son was about thirteen years old, he subscribed to a popular magazine. They often had competitions and one of the competitions was to write a story about a funny mechanical incident. I told the following story to him and he won a very expensive brande d wrist watch, which he later sold. Oom (uncle) Gert was my father’s workshop foreman and my senior by twenty years. He and I were fine tuning an old 1970 VW Beetle’s carburetor. As most would know, these Beetles did not come out with an alternator but a six-volt generator. The generator belt pulley was a real nuisance, and always in the way. It was winter and his wife had hand knitted a bright blue jersey which he was wearing at the time. The sleeves were exceptionally baggy and not suitable for this kind of occupation. Gert was busy at the back (where the engine on a Beetle is located, for those who don’t know), and I was sitting in the driver seat keeping the accelerator steady as requested. I...