About this episode
I take you through the particular fury of modern travel, the quiet rage my father carried like a second engine, and what my wife accidentally revealed about the distance between the two men. Also: what Enya has to do with any of it.
This week on duwali Bottoms Texas
Three people. Three mornings. One small East Texas town that keeps drawing everybody back whether they mean to come or not. Season Two of Duwali Bottoms Texas is rolling, and the ground is shifting beneath all of it.
Chevrolet Avalanche
"...And then I limped the Avalanche home from Colorado Monday and we left Colorado about 10 o'clock in the AM..."
It's a unique pickup truck made by Chevrolet that has a folding wall behind the back seats. This wall, called a midgate, can be folded down to make the truck bed longer when you need to carry long items.
The Chevrolet Avalanche is a full-size utility vehicle built on GM's long-wheelbase chassis, famous for its innovative 'midgate' design that allowed the cabin to open into the bed. Produced from 2001 to 2013, it combined the passenger comfort of a Suburban with the utility of a Silverado pickup truck.
chassis ground
"...The body, the chassis ground underneath, underneath like the driver's door, that goes to the frame was all jacked up. I replaced it completely. I just went and bought another ground strap, replaced it completely."
A metal wire or strap that connects the car's metal frame to the battery. It acts as the return path for electricity, and if it gets rusty or loose, the car's electronics will start acting crazy.
A chassis ground is a heavy-duty electrical connection (often a braided copper strap) that links the vehicle's engine, body, and frame back to the negative terminal of the battery. It completes the electrical circuit for all onboard electronics, and a bad ground can cause erratic sensor readings and ghost electrical issues.
Honda Accord
"Melted the whole fuse box Honda Accord one time because of the bad ground You can never ..."
The Honda Accord is a common four-door family car made by the Japanese company Honda. It is designed to be a sensible, safe, and fuel-efficient vehicle for everyday driving.
The Honda Accord is a highly popular midsize sedan known for its reliability, practical cabin space, and strong resale value. The eleventh-generation model, current as of 2026, focuses heavily on hybrid efficiency and refined road manners. It is a staple of automotive discussions due to its ubiquity, though like any vehicle, it can suffer from electrical issues if grounding points are compromised.
charcoal canister
"...But what I found out was that charcoal canister filter was coming completely apart and had just filled..."
A small container filled with charcoal pellets that traps gasoline fumes from your gas tank so they don't escape into the air and cause pollution.
A charcoal canister (or vapor canister) is a key component of a vehicle's Evaporative Emission Control (EVAP) system. It contains activated charcoal that absorbs and stores harmful fuel vapors from the gas tank until they can be safely purged and burned in the engine.
purge valve
"...And there's another evap line that goes all the way up to the purge valve on the intake, just one long line. And it filled that line up with charcoal pellets. I pulled that new purge valve off there and it was full of charcoal pellets..."
A small valve that opens to let the trapped gas fumes out of the charcoal filter and into the engine so they can be safely burned up while you drive.
The canister purge valve is an electronically controlled solenoid that regulates the flow of fuel vapors from the charcoal canister into the engine's intake manifold. When open, engine vacuum draws the stored vapors into the combustion chambers to be burned.
Cordoba Cordova
"...driving his nineteen, like just picture this, band in his 1973 Chrysler Cordoba with one plywood window in Houston rush hour traffic..."
A large, comfortable two-door luxury car from the 1970s. It is famous for its plush interior and TV commercials where a famous actor bragged about its fancy leather seats.
The Chrysler Cordoba was a personal luxury coupe produced from 1975 to 1983, famously marketed by actor Ricardo Montalbán praising its 'soft Corinthian leather.' It epitomized 1970s American automotive design with its massive hood, round headlights, and vinyl landau roof.
Mercedes-AMG
"...Tony stared at the black AMG as it roared past the shop headed out to the middle road..."
This is the special, high-performance version of a Mercedes-Benz. They are built to be incredibly fast, make a loud roaring sound, and handle like race cars.
Mercedes-AMG is the high-performance division of Mercedes-Benz, famous for hand-building powerful V8 engines that produce a signature deep, muscular exhaust note. Originally an independent tuning house, AMG was fully acquired by DaimlerChrysler in 2005.
Buick Century
"...He'd been replacing vacuum hoses on sister Dowery's Buick Century. She and his grandpa somehow kept alive for over 20 years..."
A very common, comfortable mid-sized sedan made by Buick. They aren't sporty, but they are famous for being incredibly reliable and running for hundreds of thousands of miles with basic care.
The Buick Century was a long-running line of mid-size cars, with its final generations (1997-2005) famous for their incredibly reliable 3.1-liter V6 engines and plush, sofa-like ride quality. It became a staple of dependable, low-cost American family transportation.
Master Tech
"...ot saying you're wrong but I am a 20 plus year GM master tech. The pump can have sufficient pressure but not ad..."
The Master was a family car built by Chevrolet in the 1930s and 1940s. It is now considered a vintage classic car that is mostly seen at car shows or in museums.
The Chevrolet Master was an influential line of passenger vehicles produced by General Motors from 1933 to 1942. Serving as Chevy's slightly more upscale offering during the Great Depression, it helped solidify GM's market share with its overhead-valve six-cylinder engine. It remains a popular subject among classic car collectors and vintage GM restoration specialists.
GMT800
"...Though I will say both it and my O2 2500 GMT 800 both of them had parasitic battery draws..."
This is the internal code name that General Motors used for its pickup trucks and large SUVs built between 1999 and 2006. Car enthusiasts love this generation because the trucks were incredibly tough and long-lasting.
GMT800 was General Motors' full-size truck and SUV platform used from 1999 through 2006 (and 2007 as the Classic). It underpinned legendary vehicles like the Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, and GMC Sierra, praised for its durable LS-based V8 engines and hydroformed frame rails.
parasitic battery draw
"...Though I will say both it and my O2 2500 GMT 800 both of them had parasitic battery draws that I had problems with..."
This is when something in your car stays turned on and slowly drains your battery even after you've parked, turned off the engine, and locked the doors.
A parasitic battery draw occurs when an electrical component continues to draw current from the battery after the vehicle is turned off and the ignition key is removed. While a small draw is normal for clock and radio memory, excessive draw will drain the battery overnight.
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