My first car was some large, old red thing I got from a friend around 1978 and sold a year later when we moved here to Chicago. I do remember it's name was Kelly and the woman who bought it from me totaled it in no time.
I bought the next one outright in 2000, a Chevy Tracker named Scrappy. I was in awe then of the differences in vehicles since I'd last owned one, even though it didn't have a lot of bells and whistles. I do remember missing the button on the left hand floorboard that let you put on your 'brights'. I still miss that feature. I have no idea why.
I know now that the 2008 Jeep didn't have many bells and whistles either. It came with a sunroof, told you what direction you were going and what temperature it was outside. It was also Sirius ready... which is something I've come to love. But, truly if you don't know what you're missing... you don't know what you're missing. And I didn't.
So, I got the Hereafter. I bought it nearly sight unseen and didn't find it's 'goodie's' until I got it home. Since it's a 2006, I'm sure there's lots more out there I'm still not aware of.... but I love the heated seats, the information center that tells you so much, working the radio from the steering wheel.... yadda, yadda, yadda.
.........
The first time I took the Hereafter in because of the Check Engine Light they gave me a Ford Focus. I couldn't figure out how to move the seat up (the bar was waaay under the seat); they showed me and I drove away. It had some cool features that the Hereafter is sorely lacking, and it was vastly more powerful than any car I've owned.... but it felt like a highschooler's car. But, I DID come to love the power, and that will be part of my next car if I, the economy and ecology are still intact.
Anyway, I took the Hereafter back today, because it seems to have bonded with that Check Engine Light. The service guy who was introducing me to my loaner said they had kept me in a Chevy and pointed vaguely at something he called an Impala. Unless it's the animal, I'm not going to recognize it.
Up drove this large, gold thing.
I'm driving an 'Old Man' car.
First off, I couldn't find out how to move up the seat. I wasn't about to ask again so I slung my lower body forward and moved on. I hold no illusions that I look cool driving that way.
Secondly, the gear shift is on the steering column. Can we say, 'Grandpa'? As I'm driving home I'm looking at the interior. For the life of me it seems like an old car, but there are some of the highlights they offer these days, which means it IS younger than God. I looked. It's a 2007.
The seats have this cream colored, smooshy fabric that reminds me of old chenille bedspreads. There are no nooks and crannies for things, unless you count a 1"x 3" dip near the door handle. And it smells like, well similar to, Old Spice. I don't know if it's something they sprayed the interior with or something the guy who drove it up was wearing, but it's nasty. And I got 'a' key, not a key and a fob to open the doors. If you want to put something in the back seat you have to first open the front drivers door with the key and then open the rest with an interior button. Don't ask me how to open the trunk.
And I looked. There is no owners manual.
.........
Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for the loaner. I'm grateful they're figuring out what's wrong with the Hereafter for free. I just feel so out of place in this car, and it's humorous for someone who's so ignorant about them.
.........
It also makes me thoughtful.
I told a friend never to get an Android, or similar phone, because he will find so many ways and reasons to use it he will then 'need' one. It's happened to me.
I'm not going to get angry, as some people do, that technology is speeding faster than they can think. It's what life is these days. And I'm not going to be stubborn and turn my back on it because it requires some effort on my part to join the party.
But, what I said is so very true. If you don't know what you're missing, you can never put it into play. The trick for me, and I'm up to the task, is to remember the basics... Starlings in the trees, tricking me with fake birdsong; dogs that find a stick as exciting as a ball, winter that gives way to spring.
