It’s allowed

In 1995, when I was living in an apartment on Long Beach, California, I took a drive around the country in my Honda Accord Coupe to see what there was to see. About 4,000 miles later, in Burlington, Vermont, I figured it was time for an oil change.

Up until that point there was this idea in my head, implanted by more than four decades of conventional living. Things like oil changes were supposed to be done when you were home, not while you were traveling. Because that had always been the case, and what had always been must always be, Right? But an uninfected part of my brain said, “There’s no reason you can’t have it done here. Or anywhere else. There’s no rule.”

This memory came to mind as I was having the Rolling Steel Tent’s oil changed this morning in Silver City, New Mexico. Many many oil changes since Vermont.