Just One Step Closer to Being a Soccer Mom

My first car payment went screeching out of my bank account this morning. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as I had expected it to, although I did have a brief moment of panic, when I calculated how much beer and cigarettes I am going to miss out on. But it's not that bad....this new car is affordable, even for me, and I think that I am in love with it. Maybe I'll marry it, even.

I have always hated automobiles. However, I think that I only hated them so much, because I never drove anything all that reliable. Sure, most of the time, those cars got me from Point A to Point B, and they came in handy when I had to lug wheelchairs and autistic folk around town for my job. However, I was always a little on edge driving around town with my guys, because well, it's not like they could help me push the car to the side of the road or anything, and I didn't want them to have to hitchhike with me back to somewhere safe. You should see how excited the ladies at the group home are, now that Abigail has a new set of wheels!

I always swore that I would never, ever get a car that I needed to make redonkulous payments on for the rest of my life, because a vehicle was just not that important. Making payments on a house, or a loan for travel made sense....but when you can buy a car from some farmer for a couple hundred bucks, and drive it until it dies, who needs a new one?

Apparently, I did. I woke up one morning, and headed out to the backyard for my coffee and cigarette. Gazing upon my car that was up on blocks, I just thought, "Fuck it", and made the decision not to put any more money or time into the rusting heap of metal. I paid $1000 for it, and in the two years I owned it, I sunk about $2000 or more into it to keep it going just one more day. After it was stolen, it was in even worse shape, and I just knew that I was in a losing battle.

I called on Das Piper, and we made plans to go and find a car the next day. When we arrived at the Honda dealership, I looked over and saw the Ford. I wanted it. It just called to me. I think it even winked and said, "Come over here babe, let's go for a test drive." I did what it told me to do.

As soon as we hit the highway, I knew it was true love. We looked at a few other cars throughout the day, but in the end, I went right back to my first choice. My gut told me, it was the right thing to do.

We went for a few beers, and waited to see if my credit came through for me.

When the car salesman called, and said I could pick it up later that afternoon, everyone rejoiced! Abigail had a car. It's a big step for me, one that made me feel a bit like an adult.

It's been a dream, thus far, this car. It is better than some apartments I've lived in. It was fantastic for camping, shit, I could put a kayak on top of it, if need be. During the heat wave of last week, I even thought of putting a mattress in the back, and living in it, since it had air-conditioning, and the House of Pain did not. The stereo kicks ass, and my stereo inside the house, has bitten the dust. It's just exactly what I needed, and it feels like it suits me.

And that's the story of the car, my new favorite toy. Ye olde Oldsmobile is still sitting out back, waiting for me to send it to the junkyard in the sky, and it will be on its way next week, I am thinking. It was a good run for Mabel and I, but Mabel #2 is just more reliable. If I could find a boyfriend as reliable as Mabel #2, I'd be rockin'.