All the Better to See By

I was just referring you to an article about checking the driveway, and then Alicia posted about a special device for the back window that increases your field of vision. Might want to check it out!

Do You Know Where Your Children Are?

Do you know where your children and your pets are before you leave the driveway?

This timely article by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle is both sensitively-written and practical.

My New Car is My Old Car

Do you remember that I was car-hunting? Since the transmission was bad on my minivan (pictured), I felt I needed a car that could be more dependable...a car that I could take on the freeway. I only wanted to spend around three thousand dollars on this purchase, but optimistically I started my search.

The first car I found that was even worth going to look at was a '93, just like mine; but it turned out to be a midget car and we have teen sons, one of whom is 6 feet tall. Besides that, something occurred to me: If I bought a car - and its transmission went bad, then where would I be?

While these thoughts danced in my head, I came across a blog post where Leticia of Cause of Our Joy shares wisdom from her mother. She said that while we have something, we should care for it, fix it when it's broken. She wasn't referring only to old cars (I think you'd enjoy that post), but when I read "old cars", something clicked in my head, something that had slowly been coming together.

So I called my brother-in-law Mark, an Aamco Transmissions shop owner in Saugus, California, to consult with him. He put me in touch with the Catonsville, Maryland Aamco Transmissions shop. And they took very good care of me and my car!

In turn, the car took very good care of my menfolk this weekend, who drove from Baltimore to Northern Kentucky, and back again. Over twenty hours of driving, lots of mountainous terrain, with long and winding hills, and no problem. Thank you, Mark, for referring us to the Catonsville Aamco. Thank you, Mike and John and Dean and all the mechanics whose names I don't know. Thank you, God, for giving us back our "Old Reliable" car.

Travel...and the Vatican

Thunderstorms were being predicted for today, both here in Maryland and there in Kentucky, so I decided we would stay here another day, and fly tomorrow. For anyone who may be jealous that I can just hop in a plane and fly whenever I want, well, yes, I do very much appreciate what I have...and I thank God and my daughter many times. But it might not be quite as good as you might think, either. If flying is uncertain, flying stand-by is triply so (I didn't think "quadruply" had a good sound to it or else I would have used it). Of course, that also means that I have lots of adventures to tell from the five years or so that I've had a daughter working for airlines. But right now I've had enough adventure for awhile, including the trip last week (I may tell about that one some day. Oh, no, I'm not forgetting that I told you; but I only told it from one angle, not from the angle of diversions and delays.). So, for my part, I'm trying to avoid adventure this time, by keeping my weather eye out. The rest is up to God's "decisions"...

On a different travel note, according to my Yahoo news the Vatican has just come out with a document about, interestingly, driving. You can read about it here.

The Show Must Go On

I've been thinking all day that I need to offer you some tidbit of information or news. It hasn't been one of those days when topics pop gloriously into my head, or even when I can do justice to any great news from other blogs that I may want to pass on to you. But, as I said in the title, the show must go on...

So...not wanting to disappoint you with no news at all, I will give you my "news in process".

1) I am hoping to fly out to Kentucky soon and accompany son Paul back here for a visit! For those who don't know, my daughter works for an airline, so my flying back and forth won't drain our resources. And for those who don't know, Paul is a 22 year old college student who lost his vision unexpectedly in January. He's learning cane travel, and general orientation and mobility, but at this early time it will undoubtedly be more comfortable for him to have a sighted guide (me) in an airport.

2) My minivan is in the Aamco transmission-hospital getting "all better"!

Please pray for both these people. Oh yeah, my van isn't a person, is it? And I tell the kids they get all their silliness from their Dad. Somewhere along the line they figured out that wasn't really true.

My "Dream" Car

Well, my real, real, dream, dream car is probably a BMW Roadster...or maybe a Corvette, or how about a 2001 Thunderbird?

But the dream car that I'm looking for right now, at this moment, is a '96-'99 Subaru Legacy Wagon, All Wheel Drive. I'm willing to pay around $3,000 for it, and I don't want there to be anything major or costly that needs repairing. I'm not picky or anything. Am I? (smile). After all, I am open about whether or not it's an Outback, whether it's a 5 speed or automatic transmission, and even...(my first question about any car), what color it is.

So...if you live in the Baltimore area and know of just such a car, please get in touch with me (but please don't be offended that we will want to get it checked by a mechanic so we know what we're going to be dealing with).

If not don't live in Baltimore or don't know of such a car, please get in touch with St. Francis and ask him to ask Our Lord if I might have this...unless, of course, He has something else in mind!

My Old Car

That frame around the side-view mirror is duct tape. Do you think my putt-putt car has officially reached the status of a "beater" now?

Neat Little Booklets about Cars

We might be ready to look for a "new" heap that can take me on the freeway! And then maybe we will pass mine down to our son, since a putt-putt car is better than no car, and can be driven to the store or to the subway. But how we go about that gets tricky as far as title transfer...or not, vehicle inspection certification on my ailing heap...or not, maybe we just let him use it, but then there's the insurance and they want to insure him for Ed's car, too, which has comprehensive coverage. So there's a lot of "homework" to do here. But first things first, and the first thing is to find the "right car" for me for a very little bit of money.

So Ed suggested we buy these little books he heard about on the radio. As I was reading them, I knew I had to share these little gems with you! They ARE "little", only a little over twenty pages each, even though each book costs $4.75. But when I think of what we might save, it definitely seems worth it. And who wants to spend hours poring over long books about the mechanics and economics of a car, when you can get it in nuggets?

Even if you're not in the market for a heap (or any other new-to-you car), you might benefit from Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It! The Click and Clack brothers, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, say that they named the book first; then they made a list of fifteen items. By paying attention, we may be able to add years to the lives of our cars. (Now we just need to fix our diets so we can live as long as the car. This, by the way, is my humor, not theirs; although their books are filled with humor.)

The next book is Should I Buy, Lease, or Steal My Next Car? (Incidentally, they don't even address the stealing idea. It's just part of their humor and a catchy title. And if you can't shrug off an occasional in-law joke, these books aren't for you. I never had a problem with my in-laws but I know it's a common area for jokes.) The sub-heading of this book is "How to Save Tens of Thousands of Dollars On Your Cars Over the Next 20 Years". If you drive a heap, like I do, the previous book might be more helpful for saving money. But even if you're a cheapskate like me, you might want to share the information in this book with your children and others. I like that they explain car leasing (which seems so shrouded in mystery to many people...not a recommended option, by the way). I especially like that they give options for different possible strategies that you can use in buying a car, depending on how old or new a car you want, and that they have charts showing how much you can save by using one option over another.

How to Buy a Great Used Car: Secrets Only Your Mechanic Knows is the next book. In addition to the usual tips, this book has a chart you can copy and give to your mechanic to check out a potential used car before you make an offer.

I'd just like to add that I don't make a penny if you buy these books. I am only sharing them because:
A) I want to have something to write about every day. (I'm too honest this morning.)
B) I think they are enlightening and helpful! (I even wonder if I could still be driving my 14 year old car on the freeway today, if I had read the Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car... years ago.)
C) And I would like to ask you to please say a prayer that we make the best decisions regarding the cars, insurance, and so forth. Thank you!

Remember the Time Change

We're setting our clocks ahead early this year. Remember to set them one hour ahead tonight! And yes, those cars on the clock are my Corvettes! Vroom, vrooom. I also have a few model cars. Couple years ago, while on a break at my part-time job, I was making a list of decorations and memorabilia to keep if we moved. I wrote at the top, "Stuff to keep" and under it I had: '63 Thunderbird, '57 Corvette. I didn't mean anyone to see my list, but my young friend, the 18 yr. old stock boy, saw it and got big eyes. Of course I explained that they were models and we laughed together at what he thought I had meant... (and no, I don't have Corvettes in my garage or parking lot, either; only images of Corvettes in my home).

"My Putt-Putt Car"

This is my "putt-putt car". Isn't it beautiful? Each day that I drive it, I thank God for giving it to me for another day. It's a 1993 model, which we bought in 1998. It now has over 164,000 miles.

The reason I call it my "putt-putt car" is because I am "supposed" to drive it at or below 40 m.p.h. Obviously, I don't generally take it on the freeway. I don't generally take it too far away, because last time I did, it began to huff and puff (putting it in human terms). But most of the time - with the current driving - it purrs like a kitten.