How Making His Dad’s Car Really Tall Almost Cut His Life Short
He had seen his dad and uncle do it many times to their cars to complete car repair…a fascinating thing to a six year old who’s interested in cars. After all, it looked easy enough. Get the bumper jack out of the trunk, slip it under the 1951 Chevy’s bumper just like Dad did, and crank the car up higher and higher. Neat-o!
But there was one problem. (This is beginning to sound like a Leave It To Beaver episode…)
Bill had never seen his dad or uncle flip the tiny lever to make the jack reverse action. So there he was, in his Dad’s garage, with the car jacked up – and no way to bring it down! Every time he pushed on the jack handle, the car went higher still.
Fortunately, the fates were watching over Bill that day. He had a weird feeling he should stop cranking. And he was right. One more push on the jack handle and the car could have rolled off the jack, and maybe even on top of him!
“Uh oh. How am I gonna explain this one,” Bill thought to himself.
He reluctantly went inside to get his dad. When he saw what Bill had done, needless to say, he was upset. “What the heck are you trying to do here?” he ranted emphatically, along with some other answerless questions.
His dad’s punishment must have fit the crime because that memory has faded. But one thing’s for sure: Bill never used a bumper jack without the proper safety precautions again.
Bill DeBoer Sr. still has the same fascination with cars as he did when he was six. He loves what he does! As the co-owner and President of DeBoer’s Auto, you can depend on his automotive experience and passion to take care of all your transportation needs, including car trouble.
