When I request "The Works," am I ordering a big dinner with all of the trimming out somewhere?
Could be!
Not this time, however!
Instead, I'm requesting the Mercedes of car washes at the Marathon Car Wash out on Nichol Avenue that is also right across from the Five Golden Rings (which I'll be explaining in my NEXT day of Christmas).
For a mere ten dollars (less when it's a special day), I get at least one--and, usually, two or even three--men using their own elbow grease along with the appropriate tools and solutions of the trade giving AJ's Groovy Igloo a very thorough pre-cleaning before sending me on a Tunnel Of Love type of ride.
As my minivan slowly gets pulled along (Put in N, and don't touch the steering wheel!), I experience what looks like snow being splattered onto my windshield, and more soap in a rainbow of colors begins to join the initial white snowflakes, and this also produces a wonderful aroma.
Big, soft brush rollers hug and massage my vehicle on both sides, and a kind of fringed curtain takes care of the middle part from front to back.
I can look to my left and see cheerful signs (one of them even showing a broadly-grinning sun) that tell me what's being done to my vehicle at a particular time.
After the soaping up, it's time to go through a heavy rainshower for a great rinsing off, followed by a thundering blower that won't get AJ's Groovy Igloo completely dry but it takes off most of the water.
Now, the carnival ride has come to an end.
I exit to where there's a stop signal and instructions to shift into D and drive away after it turns green.
Most times, this is simply it for me.
However, they offer three kinds of tire dressing (two of which apply to what I'm driving) for two bucks apiece--and I'll occasionally add those also (the two that apply to what I drive, that is).
This is done by-hand with lots of TLC from whichever attendant happens to be doing it at that particular time.
I've not seen any women doing this job (working at the car wash)--though I don't believe there's any reason for this--but I've seen men of a wide range of ages from high school kids to middle-aged. All of them seem to enjoy what they do and take pride in a job well-done.
Now, I love trees and have a lot of them around my home--but there are trade-offs in the form of getting AJ's Groovy Igloo grossly splattered.
I also love driving the backroads, even though this will, more times than not, kick up a cloud of dust that coats my entire vehicle like powdered sugar.
There are times that I even get splattered with muddy water and just plain old mud.
No matter what kinds of challenges I bring along with my request for "The Works" this car wash can handle it beautifully, and I drive away with AJ's Groovy Igloo looking like a million bucks!
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