The Dip-Stick Under the Hood

It was a messy, splattery trip out to Mom's house yesterday. It snowed overnight and the roads were still a bit wet with a lot of salt and dirt spraying up on my windshield. I have not driven in such conditions much since moving back to Chicago, so one thing I had forgotten was that if you follow too closely, your windshield will become opaque. Ah, but I remembered the windshield washer button. All the way out to Tinley Park I squirted and sprayed the schmutz away. I didn't think much about where the blue washer liquid was coming from, I just assumed that there would be plenty of it. There wasn't. I ran out on Lake Shore Drive, on the way home. So I made a quick pit stop before I got home to buy a gallon of windshield washer fluid. When I pulled up to our garage, I backed in and turned off the engine. Now, how the hell do you open the car hood? It was at this point that I realized that in nearly two years I had never opened the hood of the Ford. Never in my life have I not been familiar with what was under the hood. From my first Studebaker to the PT Cruiser, I knew where all the greasy parts were. I often replaced parts on the engine, checked the fluids, and a few times changed my own oil. Don't ask me what happened to the used oil, I don't need the EPA coming after me. So, here is what I discovered about the workings of our Ford Fusion. It has four cylinders, I thought it had six. The engine is mounted sideways because it is front wheel drive. I honestly was not sure if it was or it wasn't. I also discovered that everything is laid out quite clearly, unlike the damn PT Cruiser. All dip-sticks were well marked, and the windshield washer reservoir that I needed to fill is right up front where a dip-stick like me can get to it.