Bumper Cars

So, an interesting thing happened to me just five minutes into my drive home last night. I could see the lane in front of me opening up to two lanes, so went for it. The driver in front of me, though, didn't see the two lane opening and was hell bent for leather to dive into the Taco Time parking lot and not signal his intent. Our two cars met at my left front bumper, which scraped, scratched, and clawed at his right-side doors. Because I was too impatient to actually WAIT the five more feet to get to the additional lane, I got a $175 ticket. Stupid me! So – two little anniversaries here. The last time I got a ticket was maybe 30 years ago. The last time I wrecked my car was 11 years ago to the day. Happy Anniversary!

My history with cars is a rollercoaster ride. It's always something.

I have had a car that had frequent flat tires until I could finally afford a new wheel. I mean, once a week!!!

I have had a couple cars go through a quart of oil a week, to the point that I automatically got a quart of 10/40 oil along with bread and milk – it had become a staple.

I had a car that went through starters like candy. It was so bad that my significant other (coincidentally, my mechanic as well), showed me how to jump start my starter to keep on going. So, there I'd be, in the middle of an intersection at a light now turned green, and me in my work dress and heels, leaning inside the engine with a screwdriver touching the starter and sparks snapping at my fingers as I would jump back and the engine would start. I was my very own Keystone Cops entertainment. This got even worse when my emergency brake handle fell off. Then, I was given a pair of pliers so I could pull the emergency brake on; leap out of the car; jump start the starter; and drive away.

So I finally got a little Suzuki Swift. Great little car. I got extra warranty on it because Mechanic Man was not ever going to hand me another tool to fix something in my car. It did me well. It was 18 years old and still running great, 40 mpg, when, in the middle of the night, a drunk driver crashed in one whole side of the car from front to back and pushed it up against boulders on the other side, continuing the carnage on that side as well. It looked like it had snuck itself to a demolition derby, played itself to death, and then was dropped back in its parking place acting all innocent, like nothing happened. It still sits in the garden at Mechanic Man's house waiting to be rebuilt.

Now this. Almost $3,000 in damages, can you believe it??

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