I Love My Car

Even when it is filthy. Can a car be said to be filthy?

It had been close to 2 years since I gave it a thorough scrub, inside and out. When we woke to 67 degrees, I told myself, now's the day to attack this project head on.

Everything comes out, out the pockets, the drawers, the cup-holders, the trunk. Out out out. I found things I thought I'd thrown away. Stuff I didn't know existed, like cell phone chargers... where do they all come from? And why are they in MY car?

Then the vac steps up and hoovers grit out of nooks and crannies. I use a ShopVac too to really get suction power and a tapering wand for tight places.

Then the soap and water to take away dust all over the inside. It occurs to me that if this had been a daughter's car, I'd have been all over her nagging at the state of it! But this was my mess! I could hear my mormor tsking at me.

Then, just before the sun was gettting just a little too hot to take, I cleaned road dirt and grime from the gaskets and seals around the doors and trunk lid. When the sun moves past the house, I'll go back out and actually clean the body.

I was admiring the car and thinking how lucky I was to have this one, how reliable it's been and still, despite Katrina dings and door-flings, it looks remarkably fresh.

I saw my neighbor and wandered over to discuss a tall post that appeared overnight in her backyard and the subject changed to cars and this new one I keep seeing out my sewing room window as it moves down the road. I thought it might be hers, but no. And then she said this:

"I had a window break that would not pass inspection for a brake tag so I was going to get the glass replaced but Tom did it for me. He put a new car under the glass."

I love that sense of humor.