# The commonness of blowout patches in John Cheever's 'The swimmer' **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758 "2021-08-15T22:54:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/1 "2021-08-15T22:54:35Z")
_The New Yorker_ pointed to John Cheever’s excellent short story ‘The swimmer’ (1964) this Sunday. I remember hearing it read on _Selected shorts_ years ago, read it. This passage stood out: > 'Had you gone for a Sunday-afternoon ride that day, you might have seen him, close to naked, standing on the shoulder of Route 424, waiting for a chance to cross. You might have wondered if he was the victim of foul play, or had his car broken down, or was he merely a fool? Standing barefoot in the deposits of the highway beer cans, rags, and blowout patches, exposed to all kinds of ridicule, he seemed pitiful.' https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1964/07/18/the-swimmer I’ve seen a lot of roadside débris, never blowout patches. ---
**Author:** ![Scrapyard-John](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@Scrapyard-John](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Scrapyard-John)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 1:47am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/2 "2021-08-16T01:47:40Z")
No idea how you’d go about patching a blowout. Maybe it was a “thing” back when they had inner tubes in the tires. Maybe they’re referring to those 18 wheeler retreads that peel off on the highway. Maybe the writer didn’t really know what roadside debris consisted of. I don’t see many rags on the side of the highway either. He definitely got the part about beer cans right, though. ---
**Author:** ![Renegade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Renegade](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Renegade)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/4 "2021-08-16T02:27:38Z")
> [@Scrapyard-John](#): > > Maybe they’re referring to those 18 wheeler retreads that peel off on the highway. Maybe the writer didn’t really know what roadside debris consisted of. I don’t see many rags on the side of the highway either. He definitely got the part about beer cans right, though. Don’t you know that in the south it is our duty to litter the roads otherwise what would the prison road gangs have to do 😁. ---
**Author:** ![Scrapyard-John](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@Scrapyard-John](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Scrapyard-John)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 2:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/5 "2021-08-16T02:53:49Z")
We’d wash the patrol cars, silly. I actually did both, many years ago, in a time that’s best forgotten! Or at least blocked out. Lesson learned, though. Sheesh, that’s been so long ago it seems like a dream now. A bad one! ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 4:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/6 "2021-08-16T04:29:18Z")
Up north here they use the automatic car wash. Maybe get a discount I dunno. My first thought was that they were talking about pot hole patches. I suppose it used to be common to patch a tube on the road but otherwise I am at a loss. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 4:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/7 "2021-08-16T04:32:50Z")
I suspect he was referring to patches of tread debris, not repair patches. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s-Me](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/it_s-me/32/12660_2.png) [@It\_s-Me](https://community.cartalk.com/u/It_s-Me)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 12:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/8 "2021-08-16T12:31:32Z")
I’ve heard pancakes called blowout patches, Wonder if he meant roadkill, flat as a pancake. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 1:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/9 "2021-08-16T13:09:30Z")
> [@RandomTroll](#): > > I’ve seen a lot of roadside débris, never blowout patches. I think it is likely that John Cheever was… let’s just say… _less than knowledgeable_ about automotive matters. ---
**Author:** ![weekend-warrior](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/weekend-warrior/32/26122_2.png) [@weekend-warrior](https://community.cartalk.com/u/weekend-warrior)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/10 "2021-08-16T15:24:54Z")
> [@Scrapyard-John](#): > > 18 wheeler retreads that peel off on the highway I think your right about the blow out patch. some truckers call them gators. because it looks like the back of a gator on the road. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/11 "2021-08-16T15:33:31Z")
> [@weekend-warrior](#): > > it looks like the back of a gator on the road. … and they’re also very unattractive when they are hurtling through the air. Many years ago on the NJ Turnpike, I narrowly missed having my windshield smashed by a flying “gator”. Luckily it only hit the hood and left a dent that was repairable. ---
**Author:** ![Renegade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Renegade](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Renegade)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/12 "2021-08-16T15:40:50Z")
> [@weekend-warrior](#): > > I think your right about the blow out patch. some truckers call them gators. because it looks like the back of a gator on the road. Try to pick one up to move it with out gloves and it will bite like a gator. How does it feel to legal drinking age? 😆 ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 12:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/13 "2021-08-17T00:06:00Z")
So why was he standing there? Waiting for a ride after his swim? ---
**Author:** ![Renegade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Renegade](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Renegade)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 12:11am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/14 "2021-08-17T00:11:21Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > So why was he standing there? Waiting for a ride after his swim? Maybe he was trying to be the modern day Iron Eyes Cody. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/15 "2021-08-17T00:13:52Z")
This sort of thing couldn’t happen now. With the price of gasoline, nobody can afford to go for a Sunday ride … lol . ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/16 "2021-08-17T02:09:07Z")
Maybe can’t afford the gas but wear shoes or at least flip flops. There are thousands of little hook worms in the soil just waiting to burrow in between you toes from going bare foot. ---
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 3:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-commonness-of-blowout-patches-in-john-cheevers-the-swimmer/178758/17 "2021-08-17T03:49:33Z")
> [@Scrapyard-John](#): > > Maybe they’re referring to those 18 wheeler retreads that peel off on the highway I thought about that, but I wouldn’t call them patches. I saw one today on a city street. > [@VDCdriver](#): > > I think it is likely that John Cheever was… let’s just say… _less than knowledgeable_ about automotive matters. That occurred to me too. It wasn’t his jam. > [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > why was he standing there? Waiting for a ride after his swim? He was swimming across the county. You can read the story at that URI. I think it’s a great story, but Cheever is a _The New Yorker_ kind of writer: not everyone’s read.