Teenager gets second wish

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POCATELLO - Had his benefactor been a genie in a bottle, Jared Anderson could have gotten his car repaired and taken home a new computer with a third wish to spare.

But the Make-A-Wish Foundation's protocol required the 17-year-old Pocatello boy to narrow down his wish list to just one item.

No matter. Ray Campbell, owner of Master Mechanix, 625 N. Main St., read a recent newspaper article about Anderson's tough choice and figured he'd give the wish-granting business a shot.

Tuesday afternoon, Anderson, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma nearly two months ago, drove home in a white 1992 BMW 735-I he'd previously figured was bound for the scrap heap.

Now Anderson, who graduates from Century High School on Thursday, can rest assured that he'll head to college with both a working car and a new Macintosh computer for his homework - and perhaps for working some of his digital photographs and doing some recreational Internet surfing.

With his mother, Deborah, his father, Todd, and his siblings, Samuel, 5, and Andrew, 3, on hand, Anderson never stopped grinning while Campbell explained the list of repairs he'd made to the BMW.

''I really appreciate it,'' Anderson said, shaking Campbell's hand and thanking him for the first of many times to come.

To save up the $3,000 needed to buy his used car, Anderson worked for his father's business, Anderson Hydroseeding.

To get it running again, Campbell explained he worked on the water pump, replaced some warped rotors and stuck on a pair of new windshield wipers for good measure.

Anderson's father explained the problems with the water pump.

''His father, who is not much of a mechanic, took a stab at it. We couldn't find anybody in Pocatello who would touch it,'' Todd Anderson said. ''Ray deserves a gold star.''

The good news, Campbell said, was that no permanent damage resulted from the problematic water pump installation.

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