Sunday, February 22, 2015

A car story



The car on the top is the super-cool rental car that I had for 10 days while my "clown SUV" (it's like a clown car compared to the larger SUV I used to drive before I had to make up to three trips a day to my son's high school) was being repaired. It had been vandalized the day after Christmas -- at the same hockey tournament where we ran across Potty-mouthed Hockey Mom. Someone tried to pry the antenna off the roof and gouged and dented the roof, as well as lifted up the antenna fixture, creating a space where water could leak in. Plus the actual antenna part was gone. That meant we couldn't listen to the radio either.

I know it was that day that it happened, because Christmas Eve on the way to church we were listening to Christmas music, Christmas Day I did not drive anywhere, and the next day I used the car was to go to the hockey tournament and then up to the mall (to buy the giant ornaments I really wanted for the trees in the yard, but for which I wasn't willing to pay full price), when I figured I'd check our favorite Christmas music station to see if they had abruptly switched off Christmas. Well, that station wouldn't even tune in. I couldn't imagine what the heck was wrong. It took me a while to figure it out and piece it all together, doing internet research and observation of other Honda CR-Vs. I explained all this to the insurance claims adjuster. I decided I'd pony up the deductible and get this fixed because I want to take good care of the bank's car.

Super-cool rental car is a summer car, not a snow-record-setting winter car. It has rear-wheel drive which only served to foster my newfound appreciation for my all-wheel drive clown SUV (and the SUV I had before, and the sporty station wagon I had prior to that). I drove this car like the stereotypical little old lady (no offense to little old ladies)...very deliberately (but not necessarily slowly because all of a sudden I realized I was doing 80 several times on the highway). I had a horrible time with our very long and curvy bobsled run driveway, which was so full of snow I couldn't turn around and had to back all the way out. Twice I got stuck. The second time I called my husband to complain and drop a few swear words...texting them is just not the same as spitting them out vehemently and cursing the weather, the season, the driveway, the cold, and wondering why the heck we live in a climate that is so unpleasant (and no, I am not one of those people who wishes for winter in summer, so I probably would be a very good candidate to move to a southern state with ample coastline). I was on the verge of exchanging this car for something more realistic when our plow guy came down the street with a front-end loader. I thought I could tough it out for a few more days. I only got stuck in the driveway one more time after that.

I got the call from the auto body place that my car was ready just as we got hit with yet another snow storm. This time it was only five inches or so. I really don't know...if it's not at least a foot, who's counting anymore...suffice it to say it was a plowable event. But even if our plow guy hadn't come, I would have been fine with the clown SUV, which had been freshly detailed (Note to self: write a good review on Yelp about this operation.)

I imagine my kids don't think I am so cool any more, but I also know it is not my job to be cool.

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