Car Purgatory

Last evening, I had a friend explain the difference between purgatory and hell. I don't know how it came up, but apparently purgatory is more like a very unpleasant limbo. Neither moving up or down, but being able to see in both directions. Down into the pits of eternal torment, and up the skirts of angels, I guess.

I have been thinking about cars a lot this past week. I have had to need them, drive them, fill them with gas, park them, fill them with stuff, borrow them and now repair them. I am the "owner" of 2 diesel VW New Beetles. They are twins. One good and one evil. The good twin, I'll call him "Lil Green," was bought new by my husband and has been well maintained. It has a reputation around here for being reliable, getting great gas mileage, and almost always is filled to the gills with a drum set. (it even fits an acoustic double bass!)Chris drives it mostly all the time now. It has over 140 thousand miles on it and is still going strong. It gets over 40 mpg on the highway. We love Lil' Green.

Let me introduce you to "Lil' Red." This adorable New Beetle is a newcomer to the family and is shiny, bright red and has a standard transition. It's fun to drive, but deep down, it is evil. This mischievous pretty girl managed to rack up thousands of dollars on her road trip across country this April and May. She broke down in nearly every state she traveled through. I give Nathan a lot of credit for keeping his cool, and not pushing her over a cliff in Death Valley. (Are there cliffs IN Death Valley?) Or abandoning it in Tonopah. They were stuck there for about a week, waiting for parts. There probably aren't a lot of Beetle drivers in the wild west of Nevada State. No parts in stock. I picture a lot of Ram Pickup drivers out there.

Last night, Lil' Red had yet another hissy fit and split and broke a belt in the parking garage of Ithaca. Nate called AAA and had it towed to the local VW Dealer. They won't be able to look at it until Monday. Lil' Green had an appointment in a repair shop in Corning today. We had to borrow a car to get it down there. So both "my cars" are gone this weekend.

Nathan has a job tomorrow driving (the son of one of my Japanese friends) from Ithaca to Massachusetts. I woke up to the reality that we would not actually have a car for him to drive this boy late last night. Uh Oh. Grandparents to the rescue! Nate can now complete his job. Then Uh Oh again. If he takes their car...no car for me. Which is okay, except Chris will need a ride to his job in the morning. So: Joel to the rescue! (Matt's other Mom) So as I type this I am looking out into my driveway and see 2 alien cars out there.

Not long ago about 2 weeks to be exact, I did not have a car, I did not need a car, I was actually happy not to have to deal with a car. If I really needed a ride in a car, I hailed a cab. I walked to the station, I took the train, I carried my groceries home on my bike. There were times I wished for a car, like on rainy days, or days when I needed to do a lot of shopping, but over all we got along without one just fine. We were feeling all smug, green, and superior. We lived in the biggest city in the world. Everything was conveniently located on the public transportation system. It is a different world in metropolitan Japan.

Now I can't wait to get my own ride. In the area that is my property here in NY, the Japanese would probably fit 5,000 people easily into living spaces in the city. I'm thinking high rise apartments in Tokyo. Now I have wide open spaces of not a hell of a lot to cover every day. The bugs are too small. I can't carry groceries or flowers in hanging baskets or laundry baskets or my dog, or (my goodness!) musical instruments enough in them to suit me. I need to haul stuff. That's what I do. I test drove a Passat Wagon at the Import Place in Corning this morning and fell head over heels in love. It's irrational I know, but I felt my body go into a full-blown limbic response. My heart beat a little faster as I settled in and started the car. I was all giggly when Nathan figured out how to open the sun roof and change the way the top opens. He and I ooohed and ahhhhed over the cargo room and the ease in which the back seats folded down. I was dreaming of all the stuff I could haul. Conga drums! Taiko drums! Keyboards! Flower pots! Bags of mulch! Porch umbrellas! Macy, my dog! It was love at first drive.

I had the idea that I would bike more when I got back, but my bike is not here yet, it has been raining all but 2 or 3 days since I got back and I've had to do some serious shopping. I have good intentions, I am just frustrated right at the moment.

Yippee to Matt who rode his bike into town today to go to band practice. However, on his way in, his bike tire exploded and when they were done practicing several hours later, it was raining hard, his bike was broken and he needed a ride. It's been that kind of 24 hours. Stuck in purgatory.