“Hey Cal, what’s with the long face?”

The other day I had a dream. It was April 1. We all know the significance of that date – the one day each year where we celebrate the practical jokers among us.

In my dream, I ran into an old friend I hadn’t seen a long time. He appeared anything but happy, hence the question above.

When I asked the question, Cal walked over to his car and said, “Watch this.” With that, he shoved down on the fender. He held it down for a couple seconds and then suddenly let it go. The fender sprung up traveling right past its original position. Then, it fell back down past that spot only to spring up and down again several times.

“Whoa, that’s not good,” I said. “I think you need some new shocks there buddy.”

“No kidding, Sherlock,” Cal said.

“Well, I mean that’s really bad, Cal,” I said, trying to ignore his sarcasm. “You should have done something about that in March.”

Shall we say the look on Cal’s face spoke volumes.

“I suppose you’re going to tell me about the Buy-2-get-2-free deal at Performance Unlimited* in Ringwood,” he said.

“Well, now that you mention it …”

“You also realize that deal ended yesterday?”

“Well, yes I …”

“Oh, well thank you so much,” Cal said, his voice again dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe you’d like to shove a sharp stick in my eye, while you’re at it.”

I was in the midst of apologizing when I woke from my dream. I lay on the bed a couple minutes before I suddenly jumped up and grabbed my phone. I called Cal and said, “Hey Cal.”

Surprise in his tone, Cal said, “Wow, long time. How have you been?”

“I’m OK,” I said. “But, that’s not why I called.”

“Oh, what’s up?” Cal asked.

“Do me a favor, will you?” I asked.

“If I can,” he said.

“Check your shocks today, OK?” I asked. “On your car – check to make sure your shocks are good.”

There was a long pause before Cal said, “This is something you feel strongly about?”

Now it was my turn for a long pause, realizing how strange this must sound. Finally, I said, “Well, yeah, if you don’t mind.”

After I told Cal about the dream and about the deal on shocks and struts at Performance Unlimited, he laughed and said, “OK, Bub, I’ll check my shocks today, just to make you happy.”

As we were about to hang up, I heard Cal ask, “So, have you check your shocks and struts?”

“Good idea,” I said, surprised that I hadn’t thought of that.

* The 4-for-the-price-of-2 offer on shocks and struts from NAPA is good through the end of March and does not apply to labor. Expect to wait two to three weeks to receive your reimbursement in the mail.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment to have your shocks and struts checked, call Performance Unlimited at 815-728-0343 or visit www.4performanceunlimited.com.