Epiphany Came to Me Like an Elephant
Trip Start
Apr 01, 1979
1
25
109
Trip End
Ongoing
Montgomery, Alabama, United States
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
good. This news is freakin' outstanding. Its fresh,
chewy, homemade brownies good, and I tell you what,
that is real good. But before I report the good news,
let me set it up.
I sold my car. After 120K miles, seven years, and
hundreds of women, I finally sent the Wolfe Mobile off
into the distant pasture. CarMax was unlucky enough
to offer me a decent amount for it, and now some other
bloke will have a chance to cruise around the various
locales, never knowing what has transpired inside that
fine machine, awwwwwwww yeahhhhh. Anyway, I didn't
sell it without a new car in line, and in fact the new
vehicle is a little humdinger Volvo S60. Its actually
a friend's ride, which I bought from her, but since
she's abroad its here in the states at a
house in Alabama. And this past weekend I went down
to good old Dixie to pick it up and drive it back.
Which I did, and now I'm back. But this isn't the
good news, only a bit more of the story of the good
news, and I'll tell you how it relates, right after
this anecdote.
In between selling my car and picking up the new one,
I had one week without a vehicle. And I've got to
say, it was really refreshing. Without the pressure
of driving, without the expense, etc., it was just a
nice time. I walked everywhere I needed to go, and I
of course rode the Metro if I needed to go long
distances. It was quite an experience, and my house
has never been cleaner. The weekend was spent in the
house, and we cleaned like crazy people. I guess
that's what I do when I'm bored, and without the
option of leaving. Not having a car was great, but
now I'm glad to have a car. No reason, just am.
Okay, but back on track. So I was able to get this
car because my friend needs a car again. That's right,
she's moving from stank old elsewhere country to righteous old
Germany. And she was going to ship the car back, but
since its so expensive, I offered to buy it from her
and let her buy a new one. And she did. And I flew
down to Alabama to pick up the new ride, and it drives
like a dream. Fast, solid, and a little fancy, I'm
quite happy to have it sitting in my garage.
But anyway, driving this thing back from Alabama, my
mind finally clicked into gear. I had a moment where
Doc Brown from Back to the Future started yelling at
Marty when they first meet in 1955 and after the mind
reading device doesn't work, "Do you know what this
means?" That voice popped into my head, over and over
again. I didn't know why at first, but it slowly sunk
in. And now I do know what it means. The car doesn't
matter, but its the reason I got the car. Because my
friend is moving to Germany. Germany, raucous, rowdy
home of weird drunken festivals, Hitler, and
lederhosen. And most importantly, Germany, host
country for the 2006 World Cup. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS
MEANS? Oh yes, it means I've got a place to stay
during the World Cup. It means I just saved several
hundred dollars because no more hotel costs, and I can
buy groceries and eat on the cheap. It means I'll
have access to a car without renting one, and it means
life is all of the sudden quite grand. Because
her city, the nice tourist location that she is
moving to, is in southwest Germany. And from there,
with a rail pass, I can get everywhere in a day. It
means, if the US boys qualify, I'm going to the Cup in
'06, and probably even if they don't. But if they do,
I'll be there to watch 'em.
