I guess that “funny” is relative.

I spend my driving life listening for strange sounds….sniffing the air for strange smells…looking for any of the signs that forecast breakdown and big trouble.

My brakes sound funny.

I stop at least 525 times during the day….come to a full stop and put something in people’s mailboxes…and then drive on to the next mailbox and repeat the process.

Over and over….and over.

So….my brakes get a workout.

Lately, they sound like they’re grabbing in a weird way when they get hot.

Grab….and drag.

The dragging part must really do a number on my fuel consumption.

It can’t be efficient to have something that’s trying to hold you back when you’re raring to go.

“LET GO!!!” I feel like yelling at my brakes “I HEAR YOU TRYING TO DRAG ME DOWN!!! LET GO!!!”

The thing about my brakes is that they aren’t so bad that they really hinder me all that much….I can hear them rubbing against the drums and it bugs me some….that’s all.

Every day I drive this old Jeep Cherokee on the mail route….and everyday, I hear something that sounds…different…than what I’d expect.

But….I’m used to it. I’m used to the quirks and weird slight shudders….to the smells and sights that an old car…pushed too hard to do a job that no vehicle should be made to do….makes.

Maybe “getting used to it” is the problem.

They always stop me….they always slow me down on the big hills.

I thank them for doing that.

It’s important that they do that.

I need to stop.

Maybe you don’t notice the rock in your shoe if you walk on it for a year?

Maybe getting used to anything to the point where you accept it without trying to fix it is a bad thing.

My brakes are safe….but irritating.

I’ll have to check that out sometime soon.