As we pulled away from the house, my son asked with surprise, “Dad! Is this a race car?”

He was responding to the aggressive, throaty sound my engine had begun to make.

“No, buddy. It’s not supposed to sound this way. There’s a problem with the exhaust.”

* * *

We naturally draw conclusions from what we see and hear, but there are times when those are false signals. We perceive one thing but the reality is quite the opposite.

Also: the new muffler — which was subsequently installed — is not as exciting as you might think. Or rather, it’s exactly as exciting as you might think.