Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Flying Tomato



Yesterday we got a "new-to-us" car. I'm sooo excited. Over the many years since I've been driving, I've owned several cars that I LOVED and many that were good for transportation but without that passionate connection. Well, now I have another one I love.

My first love was a blue convertible GTO 1965. What a headturner! At the time I was teaching 4th grade. and that car made me a heroine to my boy students. Unfortunately such a hot car didn't go unnoticed by car thieves. One night a group of carousers stole it, robbed a store and ran it into a ravine. Totalled! Goodbye coolness.

Then there were a stream of sedate, personality-less types. Finally almost 20 years later I got a small white BMW. This zippy little car was great for intown driving and parking, but also powerful enough to handle many trips into the Alps. It was the most reliable, most comfortable, best fit for our lifestyle at the moment. I loved tooling around in it all over central Europe with my tape deck blaring. No drama to its end; it just became time to trade it in.

Not many years later when we landed in Atlanta, hub and I bought a van for me - Chrysler Town and Country. Heated seats!! Now those are one of life's unsung luxuries!! This car took me all up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Finally to Texas. A great old workhorse. Lots of room to haul stuff but the comfort of a fine sedan. It was a sad day when we had to retire her.

Flash forward to yesterday. After a crash last week that took out hub's car. (Some one ran a red light. Good news, no personal injuries.) I now am the proud owner of a used, but shiny like new, Town and Country. Climbing into it was like putting on comfy slippers. My inner self sighed with that sprcial snuggle you experience wen you lay down in your own bed after a long absence. Ahhhh! It's in great shape, low mileage, so I hope it will be with me a long time.

The surprise is, it is orange. For years my least favorite color but living near Austin and UT I've become accustomed, almost fond of burnt orange. And as you can see it goes a bit beyond with more red in it. Reminds me of Shaun White's hair. For the unfamiliar, he is the Olympic snowboarder wno won a gold medal in 2006 and will be competing in this year's Olympics. His head of wild red hair has earned him the nickname of the "Flying Tomato." If he can embrace that moniker, so can my car. At least my new car will be easy to spot in the sea of silver and black in the HEB parking lot.

3 comments:

tskross said...

no mention of my personal favorite...the lazer red audi A4!

This is great, I can't wait to see dad driving this thing around town!

susan said...

and you look so good in it!
along the same tomato vibe ... check out the lyrics to one of my favorite songs 'hang on little tomato' by pink martini ...
'Somebody told me, I don`t know who, whenever you are sad and blue and you`re feelin` all alone and left behind just take a look inside and you will find

you gotta hold on, hold on through the night.
Hang on, things will be all right.
Even when it`s dark and not a bit of sparkling sing-song sunshine from above spreading rays of sunny love.

Just hang on, hang on to the vine.
Stay on, soon you`ll be divine.
If you start to cry, look up to the sky. Something`s coming up ahead to turn your tears to dew instead.

And so I hold on to his advice
when change is hard and not so nice
you listen to your heart the whole night through your sunny someday will come one day soon to you.'

and the music is equally as magic.

JC & The Sunshine Band said...

Nice Ride! Looks like you're driving to Colorado. Ha Ha!