What is it about cars?

Goodbye, faithful friend 


The salvage company is coming to take away my car today.

Sigh ... funny how attached we get to our cars. We've gone a lot of miles together, often just the car and I. From Ottawa to Kentucky. And back again. And yet another time from Ottawa to Kentucky. Many more times after that. Down to Nova Scotia this summer.

We've had a lot of good times. So I was really surprised when all it took was a not-very-violent collision at a slow speed in a parking lot to do her in. I figured it would only be a couple thousand bucks damage.

I sure don't know much about car repairs .. the bill would have been over $6000. So, the insurance company says, we'll write you a cheque. Got to admit the settlement amount was more than I expected. And Barry is the real winner here -- my original plan (before the accident) to pay him for half and keep the car. Only I told him I wasn't going to give him a penny more than half of $4000. So he's got a whole lot of reasons to be happy right now. And I could have told him that the insurance company only gave me $4500. But I didn't.

I am not going to get another car right away. I can go without one for the next few months until I get a more solid revenue stream happening. Then I'll probably lease something new. Or, if my friends Sarah and Shawn go to Korea, I'll buy their 1992 Volvo -- it's a kick ass car (in a Volvo kind of way .. isn't that something like referring to something from Ikea as "kick-ass"?)

What I mean is it's Swedish cool. Which is a whole bunch different from North America cool.

Oh, and by the way, I am alright. Nothing damaged except my ego. 'Cause it was my fault. Can't believe it -- I've driven thousands and thousands of miles all over this continent and the first time I get into an accident it's in a big-box mall parking lot going 20 kph.

I think I can still say I'm a good driver -- one accident in over 25 years of driving isn't a bad record. Even if I got a ticket for failing to yield. Would have been worse except I put my head down on the steering wheel and cried after it happened. The cop was real nice .. the tears did not hurt even if they were unintentional.