Pay attention…

Pay attention to your thoughts, for they become your words, pay attention to your words, for they become your acts, pay attention to your acts, for they become your habits, pay attention to your habits, for they become your character, pay attention to your character, for it becomes your fate.

The Talmud.

Someone cut the fuel line on my car…

I noticed a flat tyre last week and thought I must have driven over a nail. On Saturday, I put the spare wheel on to take the car to Kwik-Fit and noticed the wheel nuts on the tyre were unusually loose.

I drove round the corner where another driver flagged me down saying I was leaking fuel. I jumped out to find petrol pouring from the underside of the car and pooling at the kerb. Turns out I had been trailing a line of fuel all the way down the street. Shit.

A friendly passerby, who must have been a mechanic, immediately stopped and offered to inspect the car. He looked underneath and announced that someone had cut my fuel line.

I looked under the car and this pic is what I saw:

I couldn’t believe it.

I spent an uncomfortable moment contemplating if this could, somehow, be personal. A slashed tyre and cut fuel line are a serious intent to harm.

It just seemed impossible.

Later, I Googled around and discovered that thieves cut exposed fuel lines on older cars to siphon out the petrol. It seems they tilted the car by deflating the tyre so they could get more fuel out of the tank. I think they tried to take the rear wheel off as well, hence the loosened bolts.

It was a real shock, but at least it wasn’t personal. I dread to think what could have happened. A smouldering cigarette end, random engine spark, stray firework could easily have sent me up in a ball of flames.

I reported it to the police who were very helpful, but said they couldn’t really do anything about it other than give me a crime number.

Shit.

It’s time…