I’m in the middle of a glorious love affair. It’s not really an “affair” because neither of us is married. I guess it’s just a wonderful love relationship rather than an affair. I’ve only experienced this type of love three times in my entire life. My first time I was 16. We all remember our first love. It’s funny when I look back on it now because the object of my affection way back then was not like my new love. But I still remember the experience with great joy.
Okay. I can’t do this anymore. I have to tell the truth. It’s a car. Yes, it’s a car. Just a car. But I am truly in love with this little car. When I was 16 I worked in the pear sheds in northern California and saved all my money and bought an adorable 1953 pink and white Ford with blue vinyl interior. I loaded that beauty up with friends and off we’d go on hot summer nights. The radio was blasting, the windows were down, and we cruised the drag for hours and hours. It is one of my favorite youthful memories.
I had a few cars after that one but found a red MGB one day, bought it, and fell in love with a car again. The cars surrounding those two fun cars were functional and got me from point A to point B adequately and reliably but I didn’t love them. The pink Ford and the MGB I loved. I had to sell my MGB because it had serious maintenance issues and expenses and I just couldn’t cope with it anymore. It was old when I bought it and had a few problems but it seemed to develop more and more problems and I couldn’t keep up. I’m not sure what happened to the pink Ford. I purchased it in 1962 and it was a 1953 so perhaps it was also a maintenance issue.
Americans, and in particular Californians, love cars. Unless one lives in a major city it’s hard to get around without a car. Suburban mass transit is usually slow and often difficult to get to. In a large city we can walk out our door, walk a block or so, and find many forms of mass transportation. I lived in San Francisco for many years and never drove my car unless I went out of town on weekends. It’s a lot cheaper to live without a car if living in a city. No car insurance, no repair or maintenance bills, no annual registration, no wildly fluctuating gas prices, and no outrageous parking fees. Taking the bus every day is so much cheaper and bus drivers manage well navigating the busy streets. If we sometimes work late at night we can take a cab home and though that seems expensive it’s not too bad when added to an annual budget where we calculate car expenses versus public transit. We come out way ahead. My son lives in Sacramento and they have an efficient system which he uses every day.
But those of us living outside the major city hubs need our cars. And more than that, we love our cars. It’s fun to drive in less clogged communities. It’s comfortable to run errands or visit friends without the big city congestion. And so we put a lot of time and effort into selecting just the right car for our personalities and lifestyles. Still, even though I’m a suburbanite, I have always been a somewhat conservative car customer. I want cars that are reliable and not too expensive to run. Once I purchase a car I keep it for years and years. A few years ago I donated a 1994 Saturn to the Humane Society of Sonoma County. It was in perfect condition but I had an opportunity to purchase a newer car (Honda Accord) from a friend so I did. It was newer and a definite upscale from the Saturn. A few years after that I traded cars with my daughter. Both cars began to pile on the miles and years but were still in great condition. My son joined the family car trading business and he continues to drive one of the original cars we’ve been swapping.
So last week while sitting at my computer my daughter emailed me to tell me she found my favorite car on display at a dealership next to her office. Even in the color I love. I thought she was merely mentioning it because she knows I love this particular car. We chatted about it and I never once thought about buying it because I had a perfectly good car sitting in my garage even though it was beginning to be a senior citizen---like me. That was on a Monday. On Thursday she bought the car for me and we picked it up. I’m still stunned. So what is this glorious car? It’s a Mini Cooper in mellow yellow with black trim, leather seats (with seat warmers), and power everything. It is, beyond a doubt, the cutest thing on wheels and I am definitely in love with it.
My love affair with the Mini Cooper came, as it did for thousands of others, after watching the fun movie The Italian Affair. Though there are human actors in this film, and very good ones too, it’s the Mini Cooper that steals the movie. It’s sort of like having a cute dog or cat in a movie. Who watches the actors when there’s a funny dog performing alongside? Same with the Mini Cooper. I won’t give the story away but for those who like engaging chase scenes and clever revenge stories, this is the movie to watch. For many years after that movie whenever I saw a Mini Cooper on the highways I always smiled remembering how adorable they were in that film and secretly thought that someday I would have one.
I wasn’t sure it would be practical for me since I have two dogs I transport around a lot, one the size of a small Lab, and I visit my 86-year-old mom and often take her places with her wheelchair but still I had that little seed of hope in the back of my head. You know, sort of like the hope that one day Paul McCartney would stop fooling around with all these silly women and marry me instead.
My daughter likes them too. And she knew how much I’ve loved them. So when she saw my favorite model and color two blocks from her office she knew what she had to do. And she did. I have a very close relationship with my kids because we have been through some tough times together. Single parenting is daunting---and expensive. But our team of three got them both through college and now they have good jobs and she just wanted to do this. Many people have asked if I was surprised but when I think about it, no, I was not. I was thrilled but not surprised. That’s who she is.
I have to go now because I’ve had the car for a week and it’s time to wash it and dry it (there could be hugging and kissing) and polish the chrome. Yes, chrome. It’s the sports package so it has chrome. And racing stripes. And checkered side mirrors. Like I said, I’m having a glorious love affair and do not anticipate a divorce.
Now I’ll have to work on Paul McCartney because apparently dreams really do come true.
[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author. Blog series began in March 2009.]
