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たかが車、されど車
雅子さんが車を購入したのは、昨年5月のこと。しかし、初めて洗車したのはつい最近のことでした。そしてそのとき、車体にいくつもの傷を発見します。どうやら知らず知らずのうちに車を傷つけてしまっていたようなのです。そこで雅子さんは考えました、「この傷はオールバニーの雪深さに関係がある」と…。
It's (not) just a car ...
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一念発起して洗車したはいいが、新たなへこみ(助手席のドア)を発見
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A little over a week ago, I decided to have my car washed for the first time since I bought it last May. My car is supposed to be a very dark green, but it looked almost white because of the salt that had accumulated on it. We've had a lot of snow this year, and the roads were heavily salted after each storm. A lot of that salt ended up on my car. After the thick coat of salt was rinsed off, I saw several dents on the side of the car. I hadn't noticed those dents before. My Toyota Corolla had acquired some new battle scars this winter.
Albany is in a part of the country where people regularly discuss what kind of snow tires to buy. One of my colleagues couldn't make it home one day because his car tires skidded while trying to go uphill. Another colleague slipped into another family's property and had to be towed out. It isn't uncommon for people to run into parked cars and then (unethically) drive away.
That is not to say that I believe somebody else drove into my car and fled the scene. I suspect that I nicked the car without even noticing. The snowbanks around here are several feet high, so it's hard to see what's around the corner. I know I hit a guardrail underneath a snowbank once, so it's likely that I damaged my car then. Or maybe I dented it when I tried to dig my car out of a huge snowdrift by throwing myself against the body. There aren't many other ways I can explain how the side of my car got dented.
I've been driving in Albany for almost half a year, so my car has become an integral part of my life. I still wouldn't claim that I'm a good driver, but I've certainly become used to driving. It's been taking me a lot longer to get used to dealing with car problems.
I've taken two out-of-state business trips this year, leaving my car parked in the airport parking lot. A few weeks ago, I walked back to my car at midnight, only to find that it was dead. It didn't make any sound when I tried to start the engine. The lights didn't turn on, and not even the power locks worked. After a few days of sitting in the snow, the car battery had discharged.
I trudged back inside the airport and phoned the emergency hotline for help. Fortunately, a repair truck arrived in minutes to jump-start my car. Apparently, this happens quite frequently at the Albany Airport, and they didn't charge me anything for the service. I was glad that the problem was solved quickly, but it gave me a fright: What if my battery had died at the side of a desolate road and not in an airport parking lot?
A short time after this incident, I walked to the parking lot after work one day, when a kind bystander told me that I should have my front tire checked. Sure enough, there was a small leak that I simply wasn't experienced enough to notice. And a few days later, I couldn't open the lock of the driver's side of the car because it had frozen, so I had to open the passenger door and climb into the driver's seat.
My officemate and I have been trading car horror stories, and she told me that her car has been dented about six times by other people. One of those dents was apparently caused by a BB gun. My officemate has a very, very nice car so those dents undoubtedly bothered her, but then she sighed philosophically: "Well, it's just a car."
This is true when it comes to dents and other cosmetic issues, but cars are in fact delicate and dangerous machines. I'm starting to see that there's a lot more to being a good driver and good car owner than driving within the speed limit and staying within the lanes. I'm thankful that I've been learning some good lessons before somebody really gets hurt.
Shukan ST: March 28, 2003
(C) All rights reserved
- is supposed to be 〜
- 本来は〜だ
- had accumulated on 〜
- 〜にくっついて層になった
- were heavily salted
- (雪解けを早めるため)かなり塩がまかれた
- storm
- 吹雪
- ended up on 〜
- 結局〜に付着した
- thick coat of 〜
- 厚い〜の層
- was rinsed off
- 洗い流された
- dents
- へこみ
- battle scars
- 運転中の傷
- colleagues
- 同僚
- couldn't make it home
- 帰宅できなかった
- skidded
- 滑った
- go uphill
- 坂を上る
- slipped into 〜
- 滑って〜に突っ込んだ
- property
- 敷地
- be towed out
- けん引して引っ張り出してもらう
- run into 〜
- 〜に突っ込む
- parked
- 駐車中の
- unethically
- いけないことだが
- drive away
- 走り去る
- That is not to say that 〜
- 〜というわけではない
- fled the scene
- 現場から逃げた
- nicked 〜
- 〜に傷を付けた
- snowbanks
- 雪提
- several feet
- 数フィート( 1フィート=約30 センチ)
- corner
- 曲がり角
- dig 〜 out of 〜
- 〜から〜を抜け出させる
- snowdrift
- 雪の吹きだまり
- throwing myself against 〜
- 〜に体当たりする
- body
- 車体
- integral
- 欠かせない
- claim
- 断言する
- (have)certainly become used to 〜
- 〜に慣れてきた
- dealing with 〜
- 〜に対処する
- out-of-state business trips
- 州外への出張
- parking lot
- 駐車場
- only to find that it was dead
- 車が動かないことに気付いた
- turn on
- つく
- power locks
- オートロック
- battery had discharged
- バッテリーが上がってしまった
- trudged back 〜
- 重い足取りで〜に戻った
- emergency hotline
- 緊急電話サービス
- repair truck
- 修理のトラック
- jump-start
- バッテリーをつないで始動させる
- didn't charge me anything for the service
- 修理代を請求しなかった
- gave me a fright
- ぞっとした
- What if 〜
- もし〜だったら
- desolate
- 人けのない
- bystander
- 通り掛かりの人
- Sure enough
- 確かに
- leak
- 漏れ口
- wasn't experienced enough to notice
- 経験が浅くて気付かなかった
- had frozen
- 凍っていた
- passenger door
- 助手席のドア
- climb into 〜
- 〜に乗り込む
- officemate
- 会社の友人
- have been trading 〜
- 〜を打ち明け合っている
- BB gun
- 空気銃
- undoubtedly
- 明らかに
- bothered 〜
- 〜に嫌な思いをさせた
- sighed
- ため息をついた
- philosophically
- 冷静に
- when it comes to 〜
- 〜については
- cosmetic issues
- 外見の問題
- there's a lot more to 〜 than 〜
- 〜してさえいれば〜でいられるのではない
- lanes
- 車線