Bleu Pierre made his way to the desert wastelands in a hot summer day in 1960, carrying Pere Tisserant and the rest of the Weaver family from the chill of the coast into the oven of a Valley.
His first adventure involved driving from his spot at the curb in front of the four-cabin court the family called home to the Brawley News. Although a relatively uneventful trip, early in his time in the Valley Pierre encountered the crickets. Millions of them covered the streets, sidewalks and circled the streetlights at night.
It wasn't long until, his outings lengthened. Regular visits to El Centro, Westmoreland, Calipatria and Niland gave way to an occasional dash to the coast to escape the summer heat and up to Julian and Ramona to visit the family's relatives.
Toward the end of that first summer, Pierre and the family made their first visit to Mexico. It was no weekend pleasure trip but rather part of a complicated program that involved most of the newsies who worked and lived in Brawley. The drive was known as "The Booze Run.''
Each newsie involved in the run would volunteer every month or six weeks to drive to Mexicali and load up and drive to San Luis and up to the Arizona checkpoint, where the legal limit of liquor was one gallon for each U.S. citizen. (In California in those days, no liquor could be brought into California.) Since there was no differentiation betwen adults and children, the family was allowed to bring four gallons across the border.
Pierre got used to being packed with an assortment of Mexican booze -- tequila, Kahlua, various liquors and half-gallon jugs of Oso Negro vodka and gin (complete with the little black bear key chain on each bottle). As the runs continued and Pere became friends with the liquor store owner, extra items including miniature bottles of various liquors, fancy shot glasses and sacks of tiny limes were added to the cargo.
Everything went well for Pierre until the following summer when he was headed back to Brawley from El Centro. He felt hot and then everything just seized up. His aluminum engine had melted into a useless block of metal. In short order a new engine was installed and he felt much better.
Since Pierre was running so well, Pere decided to improve the appearance of his Renault. Pierre was driven to a small upholstery shop in Mexicali, near the state capitol building of Baja California. There with the mastery of Spanish he had developed in three years of classes at Grossmont High School, Pere launched into a conversation with the shop owner.
It was evident shortly that Pere's Spanish was about as sufficient as was the English of the upholsterer. Attempting to suggest the job be taken on the following week, Pere said: "Otra semana.'' This comment of "other week'' did little to help. Finally, after several minutes of talk that would have sent a United Nations translator out for a beer, Pere noticed a calendar on the wall. Taking down the calendar and gesturing to the time he wanted the work done, Pere was able to get through to the upholsterer.
Although Pierre's work was not done on the date promised by the shop, it turned out to be quite an improvement -- a two-tone blue naugahyde -- over the stock gray.
So proud of the new interior were Pere and the family they decided to take Pierre on a run to the coast to show it off at the relatives'.
About 10 miles west of Seeley on Highway 80, in a stinging sand storm Pierre coughed and sputtered and coasted to a stop. He felt awful. Pere raised the hood, took a beer from the ice chest, closed the hood and went around the car to the engine compartment.
"Obviously something to do with the fuel system,'' he intoned with knowing emphasis. "I remember something like this happening to my '34 Ford on Grossmont Hill,'' he added. ''Nothing to it, just a vapor lock. Fixed it by putting wooden clothes pins on the gas line.''
Maman reminded Pere the family had left its clothes pins on the line back in Brawley.
Pere took another sip of beer and shielding his eyes from the sand, decided it was time for some serious action. Using the official Renault tool kit that came with Pierre, Pere loosened the bolts holding the carburetor to the intake manifold and lifted it out.
Inside the car, he took the carburetor apart, trying to appear he knew what he was doing. Fortunately for him, the carburetor of the 4CV was relatively simple. He continued fumbling with it until a needle shaped piece fell into his had. Behind it, there was a mesh screen.
He pulled that out, too, and blew through the needle valve and the screen, hoping this might have something to do with the problem. After the carburetor was reassembled and back in place, Pierre seemed to want to start, but didn't. The battery was dead.
"Aha,'' Pere exclaimed, closing the engine cover and returning to the front compartment where he got another beer and the handy, dandy combination wheel wrench-crank.
He took another sip of beer, extended the wheel wrench-crank into crank position, fed it through the handy hold in the grille and into the engine. After one twist which ended with a solid jolt and back bounce that bruised Pere's arm and sent a series of expletives flying, Pere counted to dix and cranked it again, starting Pierre.
From that time on Pere was difficult to live with since he was always boasting about his skills as a sand storm mechanic without equal.
Finally, after a series of other adventures in the Valley, which included carrying Pere, Maman and the deux fils to the hospital and bringing back Pere, Maman and trois fils, the family decided it was time to move on.
Pere, who had landed a job at a newspaper in Ontario, Calif., drove off with all the family belongings in a truck borrowed from the local Ford dealer, a fact that put Pierre's nose out of joint for a time. The family rode with Pere while a Mexican friend of Pere's drove followed in Pierre. Pierre hated being put in such a subservient position, but amused himself by learning more about the driver.
Al Villalobos was the circulation manager of the Brawley News. He and Pere were close friends. So close, in fact, that Pere and Maman had places of honor at the Villalobos family table after Al's wedding. Al was most famous for two comments: "Me and my dog are friends together,'' and "I am seek and deezy. I thin I go home and take a Bofferin.''
When Al and Pierre arrived at the family's new home in Ontario, the dwelling was dark. The power company folks had not been out to turn on the lights. Al proved his worth by walked to the rear of the house, finding the power company box, popping it open and turning on the lights.
Next: A powerful surge in mid-life and the final days.
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