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Tennis and cars represent the sweet spots in my life and here is my journey incorporating the two.
If the old GM is dead, then someone might want to share that information with my great-aunt Zelma, or as we call her, Sister. While I can't tell you her exact age, I can tell you she is older than her sister, my grandmother, who just celebrated her 80th birthday. Regardless, in her mind, age must only be a number because at 80+ years of age she has declared she is going to get her license (for the 1st time) and she is going to buy herself a "brand new" Buick. Look out world, and I do mean look out world! Be on the lookout for an octogenarian 1st time driver in a shiny, new Buick.
I'm almost certain Sister can't name a single Buick model, past or present, I'm sure in her mind there are still images of some Buick Electra 225 she held in high esteem, that represented success.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thought at least one Buick model was "unmistakably modern and sure to challenge the stereotypes of consumers who still think a Buick is a dull car for the geriatric set," and I'm sure that is what Buick intended. Well, that image won't change if America catches a glimpse of Sister in the driver's seat of any Buick currently available.
Just wait 'til she gets a load of the new Buick lineup. Hmmm… Maybe she was paying attention when I picked her up in the new 2010 Buick LaCrosse GM let me demo for a week. I'm sure the combination of her ride with me and her agitation with her current source of transportation, my bossy, control-freak grandmother in her old Ford Taurus, is what drove her to seek a new Buick as a means of asserting her independence, and even a little one-upmanship.
In said case, I should apologize to both GM and Buick. I'm sorry. Truly, I am. I had no idea her ride with me in that LaCrosse would contribute to feeding a storm that was brooding. Obviously, that one ride in the new 2010 LaCrosse evoked old memories and made her remember why she used to love a Buick. I know I'm apologizing, but I should also say we (all of pre-retirement age family members) have absolutely zero belief that Sister will ever pass the driver's examination. Therefore, she'll have no need to purchase your shiny, new Buick. So Buick executives, you can breathe a sigh of relief, you don't have to worry about negative media images of any of your new awarding winning Buicks' being splattered across news channels in the form of a crumpled heap of metal. It ain't gonna happen, but if it did, then you might want to blame it on the LaCrosse.
SweetSpot
When I moved from my last residence, I banned all junk drawers. I think every household has one. It's that conveniently available drawer that ends up becoming a catchall for miscellaneous papers and extraneous items. I've found that many times a junk drawer is typically located in the kitchen, since that is where you usually have an abundance of drawers, but they have been known to crop up in nightstands or even dresser drawers. My parents had one in every house they lived in and still have one to this day. Once you start a junk drawer it never seems to go away, and this is why I banned them in my household. I may have banned the junk drawer from my house, but apparently I didn't do the same in my car. Last month, at the request of my mechanic, I went in search of all my vehicle service receipts. The most obvious and best place for me to keep them was in my car's glove compartment. I assume it was named a glove compartment because vehicle manufacturer's thought it would be a convenient place to store your driving gloves. Let me tell you, there are no gloves in that compartment of my car. I found a lot of paper, a lot of old paper, and here's what it looked like:
When I inventoried all that was crammed into my glove compartment here is what I found:
Old vehicle registrations – November 2000 – 2009; Georgia Emissions test results - 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008; vehicle service receipts dating back to 2000; tire purchase receipts - 2002, 2004; (1) owner's manual; (1) insurance bill from 01/2004; (4) insurance cards (from 2 different insurers) the oldest being March 2000; bill pay envelopes to the local electric company; (1)home electric bill from 08/2000, 09/2000; (1) credit card bill from 02/2002; (1) mobile phone bill from 06/2002; napkins; (2) handwritten driving directions; (1) grocery list; (1) fax receipt - 07/2008; (1) coupon for Caltrate that expired 12/31/07; (1) Kroger Plus Shopper's Card; (1) temporary parking pass; (1) mobile phone earpiece instruction guide; (1) graduate school bill statement from 02/2002; GA State personal tax letter; (2) drinking straws; (1) broken floppy disk; (1) computer data cable; (1) purchase contract agreement for my car dated 03/2000; (1) final lease billing statement from AHFC for my previous car a 97 Honda Civic & the FedEx tracking information for the payment; (1) pack of 4mm flat washers; (1) pack of 4-40 x 1 SS Machine Screws; (2) Tire warranty information brochures – Bridgestone, Firestone; (1) empty can of air sanitizer; (1) stick tire pressure gauge; (1) digital tire pressure gauge – broken; (1) ice scraper; countless service receipts dating back to 03/2000.
My mechanic's shop burned to the ground in 2007 and all of his service records for my vehicle were destroyed. The search for those service receipts will have to continue on another day. I was looking for service receipts to provide him with the service documentation for that time period, but no such luck today. I have the 2007 receipts, but they just aren't in that glove compartment. I guess, by 2007, space in the glove compartment was limited and there was only room for the necessities – the insurance and registration cards. I have no idea where I filed those receipts, but I can say they were not in that disorganized cluster I call a glove compartment. If I'd been stopped by a police officer, the there's no telling how long it would have taken me to produce my registration.
My rolling junk drawer has been cleaned out and now there is only the owner's manual, current 2010 vehicle registration, the receipt for the current tires on my car and the warranty information for them, an ice scraper, and tire gauge. My glove compartment now has only the necessities, but what about yours? Send me a picture. I'd love to see what's going on in your glove compartment.
Maybe now that my glove compartment is clean I can actually store a pair of driving gloves in their rightful place.
SweetSpot
It's Christmas and now is the time when people have chosen to deck the halls and adorn Christmas trees with lights. For those who aren't into Christmas trees, but still enjoy the lights, I'm sure they wonder why lights should be limited to your tree. That had to be my friend's thought when he decided now would be the perfect time to use his car's wheels to display his Christmas cheer. Seven different LED light colors illuminate all four of his chrome wheels to transform his ride into a modern day Christmas sleigh with lights that glow, pulse and strobe. Although I was privy to a short daytime demo, the glow of the wheels on his BMW 745 Li could not truly be appreciated or captured in pictures prior to sunset. After seeing that, all I could say was "'tis the season"! If Santa can let Rudolph with his glowing nose illuminate his flight, then why not illuminate your wheels. Santa will park his sleigh and corral Rudolph, but my friend will keep rolling on with his illuminated wheels throughout all of next year. His car was the first I've seen with this aftermarket accessory, but who knows how many others will receive this illuminating gift for Christmas. If you want to light up the Christmas of your friend or loved one, then you can order a set from Motionlite. I hear Tiny, of "Tiny & Toya" fame, already has her set. I'll be on the lookout for others who will be spreading Christmas cheer throughout the year.
Quet
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