Merry Christmas to all…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This poem written by Kevin Pound (12/2005) written with visions of 20^th Century FIAT Spiders in mind, makes me appreciate my dependable 21ˢᵗ Century version (almost 6-years-old already) all the more!!

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and out in the shed
Sat a ten-year-old FIAT, its battery dead

Its fenders were rusted, the floor pan had holes
The seats and the carpets had been eaten by voles

The tires had dry-rot, the gas tank was leaking
A turn of the wheel sent tie rods a-creaking.

So I put on my coat with a weight on my heart,
And went out to the shed to get it to start.

The engine turned over–there arose such a clatter!
I knew from the sound it was water pump chatter.

From under the dashboard there came a bright flash:
The wiring harness had just turned to ash!

“I’ve had it with Spiders!” I finally swore
“Enough is too much! I can’t take anymore!

”When what to my red, teary eyes should appear
But a little Italian (hell, I need a beer!)

“Buon giorno,” he said, poking me in the belly.
“You needa my help? I’m Gianni Agnelli.

“This one can be saved; there’s no reason to grieve.
All you need is some faith–Man, you gotta believe!

“A hammer! Some duct tape! Get me more tools!
When you work on these cars, just make up-a da rules!

“We’ll get her cranked over—no way that she’ll stall
(But stand over there wit’ you back to the wall.)“

A cough and a sputter, the cacophony stunning–
I couldn’t believe it! The damn thing was running!

The ghost winked at me and said, kicking a tire,
“Whatever you do, DON’T TOUCHA THIS WIRE!”

The old man then vanished amid sneezes and farts
But when the smoke cleared he had left me some parts.

So I opened the shed door and let the top down
Put pedal to metal and went out on the town.

And I thought to myself as I missed second gear
Merry Christmas to All, and a Happy New Year!

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