Saying sayonara to the Honda
My car has been in the shop since Black Friday. I was holding out hope I would get it this week. On Monday, the insurance adjuster called. He pronounced it dead on arrival. He used the colorful euphemism, “totaled,” but dead is dead. I’m going to miss that Honda.
I’ve been driving around in a rental. It’s a great car, but I think I mostly like it because it’s clean. Let’s face it; I used my Honda Civic like it was a school locker. It had clothes, notebooks and pens littered throughout. I also kept three different jackets in it. A light hoodie, a heavier hoodie and a raincoat, mostly because of the unpredictable Pittsburgh weather. One day we’re slipping on ice, the next we’re all wearing shorts. Go figure.
The other thing about the rental is it’s a 2015. It’s great to drive something so new. The carpet isn’t stained from that time I was going to a picnic and the lid came off the potato salad when I went around a sharp corner. My car never smelled right after that. I don’t even like potato salad.
The rental does have some weird, little quirks. The turn signal is mind-numbingly loud. TOK. TOK.TOK. I almost don’t want to use it, but there are already far too many people on the road not using theirs. Maybe they all have loud signalers and that’s why they aren’t using them. I will try to remember that next time someone pulls into my lane without any prior notification.
The other day, I went to fill up the gas and I was on the wrong side of the pump. There seems to be no rhyme or reason which side the gas tank is on. My friend Brian told me to watch the arrow, and I said, “On the CW?” He responded, “Not the Arrow, the arrow.” Apparently, completely unbeknownst to me, there’s an arrow on the dashboard that indicates which side your gas tank is on. I’ve been driving cars for a long time and never knew that. I think it’s because back in the olden days, my first car didn’t have one of those. I do have to remind my younger friends they actually had cars when I turned 16. The current theory is I used to ride a Brachiosaurus to work.
But I digress, like I do. Now that the car is totaled, I have a limited time to find a new one. The rental agreement ends in a few days. In screenwriting, we call this “setting the clock.” Most movies tell you that time will run out: A bomb is going to explode, the hero’s love is about to get married to someone else in three days, the big dance is Friday, etc. I feel time is ticking away and I have to buy a car or, at the very least, a new pair of tennis shoes (I’m going to be walking if I’m not going to be driving).
If I buy a new car, I can guarantee one thing – I’m not bringing potato salad to the next picnic.