[69-350]

We don't really have any 'ma & pa' parts stores in town, anymore, mostly it's Checkers, NAPA, CarQuest, and the dealerships. I only shop Checkers, I'm almost never in CarQuest, and I'm usually only in NAPA if I'm getting something for my boss.

Most of the guys at Checkers haven't been too bad, and as for the 'diamonds in the rough' there; well, there's been a few. One guy who used to work there is the guy who tought my brother how to rebuild engines, do this, do that, a true gearhead, builds engines, races, he knows what he's doin, and always has known what he's doin.

One of my buddies also works at Checkers. He's worked there for a while now. Smart guy about his stuff, he knew his ****, it was sad to see him move, but he got a job managing a couple Checkers stores over in Grand Forks.

As for any other good guys working parts stores, I'm hoping somewhere around next February I might be the next one. I plan to finish up a year at the place I work right now, and then go and apply at Checkers, since I'll finally be 18 (come October). Hopefully I'll end up being a 'diamond in the rough' (since I'm pretty retentive at stupid little ****, especially when it comes to vehicles, engines, performance, etc)