Fuel Filters

As I was replacing the fuel filter on the Chev this morning in the cold half-light before sunrise, I was thinking about the days when everything in life was simpler. Back then, I used to treat a fuel filter replacement as relatively routine. It was usually in the engine compartment and you could reach it from above. Not no mo. This morning, I was laying flat on my back in the ice and snow with the old fuel filter dripping a slurry of petrol and mud directly into my eyes. I've given up on holding the flashlight in my mouth because I always drool too much, so I was doing the whole thing by sense of touch. Of course, my fingers were numb so I had no sense of touch. But, hey, the suffering was worth it right? I mean, the whole job cost me just $7.41. (I don't even want to think about the difference between what they would have charged me over at the garage for ten minutes of labor--maybe $30 bucks--and the two hours that I missed at work where I earn probably $35/hour.)