Brakes need work? How about a lecture

But nothing lasts forever. That’s certainly the case now. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what ails this great nation. And they are more than happy to tell you about it.

This unfortunate and dismaying situation came home to roost last week when I decided to have our car serviced. Nothing major, mind you. Just routine maintenance. It wasn’t to be, though.

Somehow, some way, the mechanic managed to turn a perfectly innocent conversation into a dissertation on personal freedom, the wearing of protective masks, the efficacy of the various anti-COVID vaccines and more.

What to do? You can’t argue with your auto’s physician. The wrong word or phrase could result in an important loose bolt or detached vital wire. You don’t want that. You also don’t really have a pressing desire to endure a Rachel Maddow/Tucker Carlson wannabe yakking while preparing to labor on your heap’s fouled-up timing mechanism.

So mute nodding has to be the order of the day. Simple surrender to the moment is the wise course. Just let it go. Then find a new mechanic without a political ax to grind somewhere down the road.

There surely has to be one out there.

FISCAL PERSPECTIVE MAKES SENSE: Late last year, a sharp reader pointed out a glaring deficiency that appears in this space on occasion.

When your scribe reminisces about a particular price from the 1950s or 1960s, offered the reader, it would be most helpful to provide perspective, specifically how that cost figure would translate into current monetary value.

So, for today’s economic lesson, let’s talk bacon, a basic food group (well, maybe not basic for some of us) much-loved by millions of Americans. Sixty years ago, the average price per pound was about 75 cents. Now, it’s 10 times that modest figure.

In the interest of keeping things on a relative basis, it turns out that U.S. inflation over that 60-year period has proven to be, yep, just under 10 times.

Our readers are nothing if not perceptive.

CHARLES KENT HAS PASSED AWAY: Charles Kent was part of a generation of teachers, administrators and coaches who helped to guide the San Mateo Union High School District through the decades of its greatest growth.

A U.S. military veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, he was a key member of the early faculty of now-closed Crestmoor High School in San Bruno in the 1960s, teaching and coaching football, track and field and wrestling.

Later, he became a referee and, by dint of those officiating and other duties, he was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame. He also was the commissioner of the Peninsula Athletic League for a time.

He passed away late last month in Millbrae at the age of 94. He is survived by his wife, Patricia, two adult children and two grandchildren.

TWO FAMOUS SONS OF SAN MATEO: With Tuesday’s official announcement of the retirement of professional football player Tom Brady, a question comes to mind: Is he the most famous native son of the city of San Mateo?

Considering his list of accomplishments in the National Football League, including seven Super Bowl rings and multiple pages of all-time records in the sport, Brady could well lay claim to that title.

Another man with a glittering resume, the late Merv Griffin, could also make a strong case. His show business legacy (he died in 2007) is considerable and far-reaching to this day.

Interestingly, both Brady and Griffin attended San Mateo Catholic elementary schools during their childhoods, Brady at St. Gregory’s and Griffin at St. Matthew’s. Brady is a Serra High School grad; Griffin is an alum of San Mateo High School.

Contact John Horgan by email at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com.