Thursday, February 25, 2010

RIP Saucer

Well, we knew it was going to happen at some point.

We had been so thrifty over the years...patching Mr. LC's little white Honda Civic (1995 edition) which we called the Saucer, with cheap repairs and such...begging it to just keep on driving so we could pour our resources into medical treatment. Every two days Mr. LC dutifully filled certain fluids that just kept leaking out all over the place. He didn't complain when the cassette tape player stopped working, although he has an impressive collection of cassettes and that was the only place he could listen to them. He started listening to the radio exclusively. When the antenna broke and the radio stations really didn't come in well he didn't complain. When it barely made it up hills in our hilly environment he didn't complain. When the AC went out he just rolled down the windows.

Yesterday it finally bit the dust.

Almost while we were driving downtown, no less. It lurched along for miles, shaking and shimmying and trying to hang on, and now, it's resting in peace in his workplace parking lot.

Oh the fun of car shopping! (sarcasm). This was not.in.the.budget...it is stretched so tightly right now.

Do we get a 'family car' and hope for the best?
Do we get a sports car with two seats only?
Do we abandon all our objections and buy a giant SUV so we can fit in with the masses?

OK, you know we aren't going to do number 3. No way no how.
And number two, well, that doesn't really fit with us either. We're not really sporty-car types.

So yeah, we'll probably look for some type of small wagon with good gas mileage. Neither of us are into cars for the looks. They need to be dependable, inexpensive, and get good gas mileage. Honda Civics have done the trick for years. Mine doesn't even have automatic windows or door locks--I still get looks when I go through a drive through and have to crank down the window! But a wagon...with a teeny bit more room...well, it's tempting.....

We're also going to see my Dad after work today and through the weekend. He's no better, no worse. I just need to see him. To sit by his bedside and talk. To wrap my arms around his frail little body and hug tightly. To give him a backscratch or massage his neck. To sing with him. To read him the sports page or a devotional, if he'll allow me to.

To ask for advice on what kind of car to get. Because even at age 35, I still need him. And he's here. By God, he's here.

15 comments:

  1. Oh Jeez I'm sorry. I definitely know how stressful any additional expenses can be to already tight budget!

    We love our Honda CRV, but that might be too SUVy for you.

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  2. These things never happen at very good times, do they? We love our Rav4, but I would stay away from anything Toyota right now. LOL. Good luck with the search and get ready for all those lovely "Do you have kids?" followed by "Are you planning to have kids soon?" It's just another one of those things etched in to what others consider "normal" conversation. Blah.

    Sending hopeful thoughts that your dad has some good moments this weekend. I so want to say "days" instead "moments"...and hope that time is coming soon. Know that you are thought of often during your visit.

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  3. I love my Civic!! Saucer had a good long ride. I'd vote for another honda, the accords are nice. Honda Fit looks cute too.

    Hugs to your dad, have a good visit.

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  4. I can relate to the car thing. I'm still driving my same car from 1996 and will drive it till it dies. I love no car payments better than driving a nice car. I also don't care about the looks of a car. Like you, it has manual locks and windows, no remote. One day my hubby pulled up to the passenger side of my car, he unrolled his automatic window and yelled at me to roll mine down so he could talk to me. I just starred at him and motioned my hand in a circular motion like I was manually cranking down a window to let him know I can't reach the passenger window crank from the driver's seat. We laughed our butts off.

    Anyway, sorry about Saucer, I know that is a huge bummer to have to purchase a new car now. I understand the financial devastation of fertility treatments, who knows when we'll ever get unburied from that debt. Good luck on finding the perfect car and enjoy your time with your sweet dad.

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  5. Sorry to hear about the car. I had a 1989 Toyota Camry that was literally falling apart that I held onto for as long as I could so I know what you mean.

    I hope you find a great car.

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  6. 15 years is a good amount of time and milage to get out of a car these days. Good for you guys.

    Our beloved bit the dust in November and we ended up going with a (2007)Honda CRV. Room for more than just the two of us, but not quite a (presumptious) soccermom car either. And roomy enough to throw our dog in the back as well.

    Sorry that was not intended to sound like a paid advertisement. Anyway, good luck with the shopping, haggle as much as you can. And enjoy your time with your dad.

    Hugs.

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  7. UGH I hate car shopping. Right now I'm on the verge of trading in my SUV b/c it was bought for the JIC factor. Now in 2 yrs it will be paid off and I will have paid a crap load of $$ in gas to drive that thing. PLUS already have over 50kmiles from driving to and fro for RE appts. Freaking sucks. Now DH wants his sports car w/2doors, I'm not sure if I'm ready to commit to that lifestyle, but I guess the worst thing that would happen is that we'd have a baby. I mean c'mon, is that really a downside? Right now DH has 1998 BMW and he will have it until my car is paid off. We will only commit to 1 car payment at a time. I wish my DH was as considerate as yours regarding the IF treatment. He wants expensive cars and doesn't care if I have to sell a liver to get it for him. I wish he was that commited to IF treatment. LOL I'm glad your dad is still hanging in there. (((HUGS))) I hope you find the car that is perfect for you both.

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  8. yay for your dad being here...i guess we can't always get what we want but thank the lord we get a little bit of what we need.
    good luck with car hunting...im sure you will be able to find a great deal. these days especially.
    xoxo

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  9. I'm sorry about the Saucer! Whatever car you guys get it will be just right for your family... yep, in my opinion you guys are a family. Have a peaceful time with your dad this weekend.

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  10. I have a feeling that fathers are always happy to discuss car buying with their daughters. Even if they are not especially car fanatics, and even if they are not able to go out test driving and bargaining. I'm glad you have him to talk to, and I can only imagine that he'll want to hear all about it.

    I have a VW wagon and we love having one bigger-ish car for trips or bikes or whatever. My husband has a little car and I drive it a lot when he's out of town - I love the little-car feeling, how easy it is to park, etc. - but it is soooo useful to have that wagon cargo space. And it has nothing to do with kids, it's actually the most useful in completely non-kid scenarios, like buying shrubs or going to costco.

    In any case, yay for him getting a new car before summer! Can't believe he could survive those summers without AC! Although now that's it's "snowing" there, maybe that's not so important...

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  11. Oh boy, life never stands still for you, does it? I don't know - I leave you alone for just a few days and you're winning awards, being blanketed with snow and the breaking your car. Can't you just have a quiet few days for once? :)

    I obviously need to catch up a bit - so here goes:

    1) Like you, I got irate at J & I being dismissed as not a 'proper' family. I was given a free session at a portrait photographers with a free 7x5" photo thrown in, because of a new company car I'd had. When I phoned to book it in, the woman asked who'd be coming. I told her just J & I and she asked whether or not we'd be bringing our family. I explained that J *was* my family, and that the photos I'd want would be of the two of us. [J is very photogenic whereas I look like I imagine Mr LC's Civic will look in about two weeks, so we didn't have any really nice 'family' pics to put up to compete with our children-infested friends...] The company offers these vouchers obviously to encourage hundreds of people to come en masse who will all then want prints at astronimical prices, and suddenly I wasn't fitting the mould. So instead of the usual Saturday session - which was apparently only available to 'families' - we were offered a weekday, during working hours. In the end I sucked it up because J really wanted to do it, and so we had the pics done with her 2 sisters and their partners, and her mum and dad. To add insult to emotional injury, J & I were left till last, and when we had our sitting, the guy had run out of time and wasn't even prepared to spend any time setting up nice shots. I had to do it myself. In every picture I have no more than a half smile. A pox on their house, the couple-haters...

    2) Your award could not be more warranted. In the short time I've been blogging and reading peoples' most intimate thoughts, I've be consistently astonished at not just your honesty, compassion, and incredible strength, but also your skill at translating the world into wonderfully-phrased nugget of verbal insight. Congratulations, and may the plaudits keep a-coming.

    3) Sorry to hear about the car. Buying a replacement is never an easy thing to do. When I changed jobs about 2.5 years ago and had to buy my own car for the first time in so many years, I bought one from a 'car supermarket' - a huge 'superlot' of thousands of vehicles. And, typically, I bought the worst. My mum called it a 'Friday' car - built by workers keen to get home on a Friday. After thinking I'd saved about £500 on the price, it then cost me £1,500 in the first six months. I've still got it to this day and I'm hoping I'll come out from work to discover it's been hit by a meteorite.

    And finally:

    4) In exactly the same way that you need him - I'm sure he needs you. Just needs to see you. Needs you to sit by his bedside and talk. Yearns for you to wrap your arms around him and hug tightly. Itches for you to give him a backscratch or massage his neck. Would love you to sing to him. Doesn't care what you read to him, as long as he gets to hear your voice. If you'll let him.

    Be safe LC, and keep on being you.

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  12. I'll be good to see your dad. I think of him often especially when we have young, healthy stroke patients come in. I still can only just shake my head at what happened. It's like it's not really happening, but it really is.

    So sad Saucer died. We' re all about driving cars until they run no more. Our Honda is holding it together for now, but the mechanic is not optimistic about it. We have a Honda Pilot too. I love it. Mostly because we got it for the same price as a CRV as it is the basic model but I haggled with the guy all day to lower the price. Sweet victory! It's funny the reasons you get certain cars. I loved that Prince would have a space to stretch out and now, he's not here. You'll find the right car. RIP Saucer.

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  13. Oh, man, I totally feel for Mr. LC right now.... Might I add that my Mr. also has a super-old truck that has a cassette player, and he can't find anywhere to BUY new cassettes to listen to. Would Mr. LC want to sell his cassette collection to another old-car loving family?!
    We have agreed to drive our vehicles "till the wheels fall off" which might actually be more of a literal meaning than we realize. Seriously, 2 of my 4 windows are held UP by vice grips. (for reals.) Mr. SillyHille's truck is almost as old has he is, but the windows at least (manually) roll down. So in the winter we ride in my car because the heater works but the AC doesn't. (think about that when your windows are vice-gripped in the UP position!!) In the summer we ride in his truck because the windows roll down and that's a luxury to me.
    We are classy folks like that. :)
    Anyway, I hope that you have some great memories with your dad this weekend. Sometimes it's nice to just sit, hold hands, and just BE.

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  14. Oh, I'm so sorry about the car. We looked at the VW Jetta Diesel Wagon. Great gas mileage, and works out cheaper than a hybrid, plus you get the tax rebate.

    I hope you have a good visit with your dad.

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  15. Sorry about the car. There are so many people behind car shopping now a days. There are so many models, designs, companies, mileage and so many other things where people are very much interested before car buying. From the internet a person can definitely get a help by getting all the latest information about the car which the person needs.

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