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Just because I kno to change a guy’s oil doesn’tup his undercarriage Been there, done that Okay, so e And okay, I have a natural aptitude for rebuilding carburetors There coirl’s life when she needs to trade in her mechanic’s overalls for a pair of Manolo Blahnik stilettos Not that I can afford a lot of Manolos, but it’s a goal, right?

My nae in the Canton section of Balti sue, but it holds its own, andan honest mechanic

When I elve ht , he gave me soo-cart When I was sixteen, I started rebuilding a ten-year-old junker Chevy I turned it into a fast car And I raced it in the local stocks for two years

“And here she comes, folks,” the announcer would say “Barney Barnaby Nu up on the eight car She’s going to the inside Wait afrom sixteen There’s a lot of s she works in her dad’s garage”

So I could build cars, and I could drive cars I just never got the hang of driving the them

“Barney,” ines just so you can rebuild them”

Maybe on an unconscious level The brain is a pretty weird thing What I kneas that on a conscious level, I hated losing And I lost more races than I won So, I raced two seasons and packed it in

My younger brother, Wild Bill, drove, too He never cared if he won or lost He just liked to drive fast and scratch his balls with the rest of the guys Bill was voted Most Popular of his senior class and also Least Likely to Succeed

The class’s expectation for Bill’s success was a reflection of Bill’s philosophy of life If as any fun, it would be called play I’ve always been the serious kid, and Bill’s always been the kid who kne to have a good tiood-bye Baltimore and hello Miairls in bikinis

Two days ago, Bill disappeared off the face of the earth And he did it while I was talking to hiht

“Barney,” Bill yelled over the phone line “I have to leave Miami for a while Tell Mom I’m okay”

I squinted at my bedside clock Two AM Not late for Bill who spent a lot of time in South Beach bars Real late for me orked nine to five and went to bed at ten

“What’s that noise?” I asked him “I can hardly hear you”

“Boat engine Listen, I don’t want you to worry if you don’t hear fro forUnless it’s Sam Hooker Tell Sam Hooker he can kiss my exhaust pipe”

“Guys? What guys? And what do you ?”

“I have to go I have to… oh shit”

I heard a woround, and the line went dead

Baltimore is cold in January The hips in froet a couple snowstoret bone-chilling gray glooloom, pots of chili bubble on stoves, beer flows like water, sausages are stuffed into hard rolls, and doughnuts are a necessity to survival

Miaht out of BWI, arriving in Miami midafternoon When I left home I rapped in a quilted down-filled coat, cashmere Burberry scarf, fleece-lined boots, and heavy-duty shearling reat for Miami On arrival, I’d cra that hung fro handle, and went in search of the taxi stand Sas soaking into my Victoria’s Secret Miracle Bra,in air that felt like hot soup

I’e build I’eous, but I’m okay My hair is naturallyit blond when I decided to stop being a grease th shaggy kind of style that I can punk up with paste if the occasion arises I have blue eyes, afor my face, and a perfect nose inherited from my Grandma Jean

My parents took Bill and me to Disney World when I was nine That’s the extent of my in-the-flesh Florida experience The rest ofstories from my mohter Elsie swears there are cockroaches as big as cows in Florida And she says they can fly I’m here to tell you, if I see a cow-size cockroach fly by, I’one

I gave Bill’s address to the cabdriver, and I sat back and watched Mia there was a lot of concrete road stretching forward into a confusing jumble of intersections and turnoffs The turnoffs spiraled away to super highways And the super highways flattened and went on forever After a few minutes the Miami skyline appeared in the distance, in front ofI was on the road to Oz Palm trees lined the road The sky was azure Cars were clean Exotic stuff for a girl from Baltimore

We rolled across the Causeway Bridge, leaving Mia into Miarip onI orried about Bill, andas we drew closer to his apart Bill’s okay He’s always okay Like a cat Lands on his feet True, he wasn’t answering his phone And he hadn’t reported in for work No reason to panic This was Wild Bill He didn’t always pr

ioritize in the normal fashion