“Breathing Through the Crunch”

Took the Blazer in for an oil change this morning. I always have it done at the dealership where I bought it, because they're free (for the life of the vehicle), and I like them.

While I'm sitting in the waiting room, reading a Time Magazine article on the "possible origins of spirituality," Steve Mitnik the service manager comes looking for me. Apparently there's something a little "odd" he'd like to show me. Before I can even get out of my seat, though, he asks me if I eat Captain Crunch. I don't, but we had a box of it in the house awhile ago, for some reason.

I follow him out to the truck in one of the bays of the service area. A couple of mechanics are standing around laughing about something, and the one actually working on my car stops to show me what's up. Underneath the truck's air filter is an entire box's worth of Captain Crunch cereal (but not in the box)!

Um... no wonder our gas mileage has been so atrocious recently. The truck couldn't breathe!

I watch as the mechanic scoops it out with double hands-full, repeatedly. Finally he gives up and pulls out the whole "box" on which the filter rests, and just dumps the contents.

Some little mouse is going to be quite upset about this. Must have taken him ages to transport all that cereal, just a couple pieces at a time, from a trashbag (in the garage with the truck) up to the top of the engine compartment. We couldn't even guess how he got down inside the filter.

Steve recommended hanging a nylon stocking full of moth balls in the engine compartment, to keep the mice out. He repeatedly stressed that it must not be hung anywhere near the fan!