Yeah, totaled. I bet the check hadn't cleared the bank for the rebuild, which seemed like the best thing to do a week ago: Rebuild a clunky transmission and drive the car "till the wheels fall off."
Well, that was easy. Ask that guard rail just the other side of Appomattox on U.S. Route 460. My choices were 1) hit the guard rail head on or 2) slide into it sideways. Danica Patrick might have pulled it out. Me? Not so much, though I almost made it. In the parlance of Southwest Virginia, the guard rail "just caught my tail feathers."
First, I need to say there are dozens of helpful people traveling the highway in Appomattox County "right near Evergreen," as they told me. One found a wrecker faster than I could get AAA on the phone; another told me what garage would store it for free before the insurance company decided what to do. And the gentleman at the garage kept my mind off my mess with stories of his great grandfather in the Civil War. (I did say I was in Appomattox.)
Second, there is humor in the universe. A wonderful sign on the front of the garage declares "Phelps Towing & Monuments." There's nothing inherently funny about two businesses sharing a space and, as I learned from Mr. Phelps, family working together. When you think about it, it's good business to have two fairly recession-proof enterprises under one roof. Laughing soothed my nerves a bit.
My husband jettisoned his trip to Florida (where he might have escaped the coming snowstorm) and retrieved me. We cleaned out the car (Note to self: never expose your husband to what's really in your car. But I swear, there is a reason for the flute, the baby wipes and the "Quick Crafts from Lace" book.)
To this point I was pretty calm. OK, I was pretty perturbed. (The receipt of the transmission was still lying on the front seat of the car. No, I guess it was on the floor with my purse, computer, spare change, etc.) When I turned and took a last look at my car, the tears came. It wasn't a car it was independence day. (The only other time I cried about selling a car it was "Crunch, my '69 LTD from high school, and I blamed the tears on being pregnant.)
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| On the lot - almost mine |
For the first time I bought a car without checking to see how a car seat would fit and how many kids could ride in it at once. I swear it was a coincidence I bought it within a month of making my last child support payment.
Nothing was better than what I called "top-down days." With the sun shining and the temperature at 50 degrees or more I was set. My best friend and I cranked up the heat, maxed out the seat heaters and cruised the parkway on my birthday in January 2009.
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| "Top-down Day" |
A couple of years ago, I took my cousin's daughters cruising: top down, sunglasses and pink hats, getting waves from everyone we passed. It was at a time when they needed (and I wanted) some fun and their mom and dad got some "couple time."
A couple of years ago I drove home from Culpeper in February with the top down. Daddy and I drove up the Eastern Shore to Chicoteague in May a couple of years ago - THE perfect time for owning a convertible.
I even caught up with an old friend once when he pulled up beside me at a light and saw me in the car with the top down.
In fact, I had the top down at least once a month -- including winter months -- except for twice while I owned it. December 2009 and last month (January) was one of the two -- because it needed a new transmission. For those who know how I procrastinate, I will never know why jumped right on fixing the transmission.
There were a lot top-down days in five-and-a-half years. Maybe is is time for a sensible car, but not yet. I still hear whispering.
