Just Raven

Last summer my oldest daughter started looking for new vehicle…she had a car that was 7 years old and getting OLD to her…she wanted something different; she had just taken a job at Mass General Hospital and her income increased substantially- she could afford something better.

She asked her Dad to go with her on the search…after all HE knows a deal when it’s there..and HE can make a good deal better. It’s usually true- men know how to talk their way into sweet options and financing issues. My daughter just adores her father and she’s always trusted his judgment on these things.

They went to Nashua’s AutoMile dealership row- where many dealers all flock together in one central location. They looked at Toyota’s and Subaru’s and GM trucks…that’s what she was looking for. Something reliable and sturdy. That would last for years. Since she commutes to Boston on a daily basis she wanted something that had decent gas mileage as well.

Then she spotted a car that made her swoon…she’d always wanted one of these…

and she took it out for a spin and fell in love with it. I admit- it’s an adorable little car with lots of zip and power. It’s fast and fun to drive. It’s small too- my daughter is built like me- small, petite. She fits into it very well. She loved it and commented about it for quite awhile…and then her common sense came back to her…the Z isn’t a good car for our region. We get SNOW, and SLEET, and ICE…often in the winters. The roads can get really nasty, really fast. Not to mention all the frost heaves and pot holes and other dangers to low rise cars…

She turned her eye on a Toyota 4 X 4 truck, and decided that was what she would go for. Her Dad seemed to back up her choice but told her to wait a week, for some sale.

Two days later his friend drives the stupid Z home.

He bought it for her, cash. HE gave it to her as a gift. He told her that he couldn’t turn away the deal he got on it; and after watching her drive it (he didn’t fit in the damn thing, he’s too big- so he never got to test it…), and after listening to her rant and rave about it, he couldn’t resist getting it for her. She was ecstatic…and very happy…and very grateful to her Daddy…he told her the car could probably handle New England weather. Sure. Whatever you say Daddy….

Until the snow began falling.

We got snow tires for IT…at a whopping 1200.00; we got studded snow tires. We got the best tires one can buy. It didn’t matter. The car runs like absolute SHIT in snow, sleet, freezing rain, ice…every form of weather we have here in New England. On more than one occasion I have had to drive to points south to pick up my daughter, to prevent her from having to drive in a storm. It got old, fast. Last Friday we had a small storm- with lots of snow and ice which turned over to freezing rain…she was in Boston and headed home early in the day…to avoid the storm.

Well the storm caught her midway- she was on Rt 128 outside of Boston, when the traffic turned bumper to bumper in a mass slowdown of epic proportions: The state of MA let it’s state employees go home early and many businesses followed suit. The ensuing tangled mess on the major highways is always horrific to deal with. She got stuck in the mess and found her cute little car unable to MOVE. It span. It jerked. It was on sheer thick ice which hadn’t been treated yet with sand or salt…she literally could not get off the highway. Some people stopped to help push the car over to the breakdown lane…where she got stuck even more in the slushy snow.

My phone rings…she needs a help.

She tried to call her Dad, who wasn’t answering his cell.

I thought: “OH freak no. He bought her this car. He’s gonna go deal with this!”

And so it went. I drove to his work, interrupted him on his break and informed him his daughter was down in Waltham MA, off 128 with a car that wasn’t budging. That she was alone, in the cold, surrounded by maniac MA drivers. I wasn’t about to take an 87 yr old woman with Alzheimer’s Disease out on a trek like that…and that HE needed to go take care of this little “problem” with the damn Z. That he insisted she own…and drive, even in our infamous bad winters. He immediately got into his big four wheel drive rig and drove down to rescue his kid. It took them six hours to get home. The Z was towed back home over the weekend.

Today he went out and bought her the Toyota 4 X 4 she wanted. He felt so bad about the mishap Friday, he’s making the payments on this truck too…which he doesn’t HAVE to do, but in his mind, it’s the right thing to do. And here sits the Z, all lonely and probably never to be driven again. At least not anytime in the near future. I guess I could drive it in the summer, even though I cannot, CANNOT stand driving an automatic…YUCK. Maybe I’ll sell it and give the cash to him to help him pay off the brand new truck. No matter, my daughter isn’t going to drive it ever again.
The best part, for me on this: She told me I WAS RIGHT and she should have listened to me. When HE ever brought that car to her, I advised her to make him return it. That the car would end up collecting dust before a year and that she wouldn’t like it. She didn’t want to hurt her father’s feelings, and she really loved the car…her common sense AND his went out to pasture. She’s learned her lesson about vehicles.