Sarah: Papi

In Elgin, Frank and I took our cars to the same mechanic every time we needed something fixed, checked, filled up, or had any questions/comments that were car related.

And you should know...our mechanic was freaking awesome. He is a man from Mexican decent (and I suspect he was born in the motherland) and his name is Papi. Well, I doubt that's his real name, but that's what we call him. Maybe that sounds mean or stereotypical, but he calls all men (and I mean all men) Papi and all women Mommy. Seriously. When we would arrive at his shop and he realized that he knows us, he would yell out enthusiastically (and I mean he yells out), "PAPI!!! MOMMY!!!", as though we're long lost friends and he's so happy to see us.

Sometimes it was hard to communicate with Papi. When we talked, we would all try to stick with few word sentences because it was just easier that way. There was one time, when I went to Papi's for an oil change (I know, I know, I should be able to change my own oil. But I don't. So don't judge me.). And I explained rather plainly that I needed my oil changed, and he proceeded to get down on the ground to empty the old oil out. Then he came over to me, mumbled something unintelligible, and left. He just left his shop. I stood there. All I heard was "Ok? Be back." So I knew he was coming back, but I had no idea why he left, how long his errand would take, or when he was coming back. I texted Francis, "Papi just left. Don't know why..." It turned out his shop didn't the kind of oil my car needed, so he left to go to Auto Zone to get some for me. But for about 15 minutes, I was real confused as to what happened...

Papi is almost always covered in some kind of black car juice and he always has a smile on his face. I wish I had a picture of him to share with you, because he's such an adorable man, but alas, I do not. So if you're looking for a good, honest, hard-working mechanic in Elgin, check him out--'cause he's ballin'.

We miss Papi.