My relationship with Sweet Matey in Australia taught me a lot. It would be false to claim he didn’t come to mind through all the recent work on the van. His mechanical knowledge was so sexy and comforting. It was he who taught me that occasionally, you can supplement a long shanked tool, say a screw driver, in lieu of an oil filter wrench in a pinch. I had to use this move the first time I was servicing the little five-speed Tacoma I had before the van, I like this photo for its representation of tenacity. While tenacity can present as a quality an individual has, I’m thinking of it increasingly in a collaborative framework. You know what a good fucking skill is, sourcing and accepting help. This little builder girl loves handling things herself, and each day that passes is another one that demonstrates she can’t do it all on her own. Whether it’s changing my water pump, or being able to help with the Vegas renovation projects, or fill in the blank… I’m beginning to face that, and in so, improving my relationship with help, failure, and being well.