I have an interesting relationship with my 1995 Chevy Lumina (Lumi)as he has been one of my trustiest companion over the past 4 years (and trusty companions are hard to find in a city where friends come and go on a regular basis). Lumi has seen me through heavy rain, slippery snow, icy conditions and many a hot, hot summer (not 1 a/c problem). He stuck with me through some, I admit it, user error (bad driving) and numerous scrapes and dents (some thanks to DC wear and tear but most due to the big yellow posts in my office parking garage). There have been 2 minor accidents and a couple of close calls and Lumi always rebounds - unlike my insurance premium.
I was really surprised when several Thursdays ago my loyal Lumina left me in a bit of a tight spot...more specifically, on a tight spot on the side of a busy road during rush hour. I was making my way to Bethesda on Canal Road in DC in the middle of the evening rush. Traffic was backed up and moving slowly when all of a sudden Lumi's voltage light came on and his steering wheel locked up. My heart stopped and my knuckles turned white as I looked both directions and saw only a wall on one side and a ledge on the other and I realized that, if I didn't find a place to pull over fast, my car very well might just stop in the middle of the 2-lane road. Please, Lumi, please, not right now...keep going. He did keep going long enough to reach a little area of gravel on the side of the road. I pulled off and surveyed the damage. Everything looked just great, except of course for the smoke wafting out from underneath the hood and the not so faint smell of burning anti-freeze. Mmmmm...anti-freeze.
These are the moments that make the value of Triple A entirely clear - the times when a clueless girl (and I hate to promote stereotypes but, dammit, I am what I am) is stuck on the side of the road with a car who is throwing a temper tantrum. Yes, I have visions of being one of those cool women who takes off her suit jacket, pulls back her hair, and starts fixing her own car...but I'm just not. Experience from past breakdowns has taught me to, instead, pull out my handy Triple A card, take a seat, and wait for the tow truck.
It was a lonely hour and a half as I waited with Lumi along Canal Road. I thought about the dinner I was missing with my friends, about the impact this fun little experience was going to have on my bank account (which was just starting to look healthy), about how early I would have to get up the next morning to get to work on time via public transportation (the answer to that question, by the way, is 5 AM). More than anything, I thought about how Lumi had betrayed me and how angry I was that my little car couldn't just get me to Bethesda like I asked. It was a good time to reflect on my history with Lumi:
I once left Lumi parked for 5 hours in a not so great area of town with the keys dangling from the drivers side door. Yes, that's right, the keys (door key, ignition key, my house key) dangling on the OUTSIDE of the car. "Hello potential car thieves, please take my car. Look, you don't even have to break in!" I suppose the fact that nobody took him (despite the availability of the keys) also says something about Lumi...he's a bit unfortunate-looking (but in a lovable way).
I have lost both of Lumi's side view mirrors at different times (the passenger side more than once). I don't really use side view mirrors when driving (hmmm...maybe I should) and DC law only requires 2 of your 3 rear-view mirrors be in working condition (yes, I've asked) so losing one isn't all that big a deal. The main problem is that a broken side view mirror makes Lumi look, well, kind of stupid. When the side view mirrors break on some cars they just fall off completely but Lumi has a strong, black, tubey-thing (I believe that's the technical term) which connects his mirrors to the car so when a mirror falls off, it just dangles there, helplessly. I have to say, it's pretty sad to see and it looks even worse when the car is moving over 40 mph. I can't tell you the number of times I've passed cars on a highway and looked up to see people pointing and laughing at one of Lumi's mirrors blowing around in the wind. Not that it matters to him...he's not really worried about that kind of thing...but I feel bad.
Lumi does not have a single cupholder(apparently in the mid-90s people didn't need cupholders). As a result, many a beverage has been spilled on Lumi's floor and upholstry (a nice light brown color that shows every single dribble and spill). You can clearly see all of the places in the car where I've tried to create a cupholder because those are the places with the most spills - wedged between the door and seat, leaning up against the arm rest,propped up in the passenger side seat.
I guess that in some ways the car has every right to be frustrated with me, every right to be angry with its neglectful owner, every right to start showing some attitude. It would be hard not to be at least a little bit grumpy as a virtual senior citizen in the car world - all of the cute little cars from the '00s driving around with their flashy satellite radio and onstar and cupholders and windows that roll down (Lumi's passenger side window is out of commission)...and then you have the snotty little hybrids (not only are they cuter than Lumi but they've got the whole "reducing the carbon footprint"/ holier-than-thou thing going on).
As I sat there thinking about my adventures with Lumi, the tow truck arrived and I realized within about a second that the driver was an old friend of Lumi and me. This was the very truck driver who towed Lumi the last time he didn't start. That night had involved a significant level of fear on my part as the driver (let's call him Bob) drove the tow truck, with my poor car helplessly dangling in the back, faster than I would have formerly though possible and knowingly executed multiple illegal and terrifying turns and maneuvers through heavy DC traffic, arguing with his girlfriend on the phone the entire time. In the end, that night turned out ok because I was able to give Bob some girl advice and he got Lumi to the garage in one piece, making it a fair exchange.
Bob didn't seem to remember me as clearly as I remembered him and I was ok with that.
This trip to the garage turned out to be almost as memorable as the first one as Bob managed to block traffic in both directions for what felt like 15 minutes (probably closer to 2...but still!)in order to get my car on the truck, made 2 wrong turns (followed by 2 incredibly illegal U turns to correct the mistakes) at high speeds, and had a few yelling matches with various drivers who disapproved of his towing methods and his driving in general. There weren't any arguments with his girlfriend this time but I definitely got an earful about his boss. Eventually he got me to the garage safely and without incident. He's a nice guy and a great tow truck driver but I hope I don't see Bob again any time soon.
When our favorite mechanic Walter called the next day, the news wasn't great (or cheap) but Lumi was all better and things were back to normal (or so I thought).
3 days later I had to call Triple A again because Lumi's battery died.
1 day after that I had to call Triple A again because I locked my keys in the car while I was buying groceries. Luckily nothing was frozen or melt-able but it was a long 2 hour wait in the Giant parking lot and let me tell you, it's hard not to look kind of shady sitting on the hood of your car eating crackers in a grocery store parking lot.
3 days later I noticed that Lumi's steering wheel started shaking when I drove over 55mph and he had to go back to see Walter (no Triple A was involved this time). The tires needed to be moved around (on a scale of 1-10 of Lumi problems, about a 3).
Needless to say, I was beyond frustrated with my car and his issues. Then, a few days after his last visit to Walter everything became clear. I looked down at the display area by the steering wheel (an area I try to avoid looking at out of the very real fear that one of the scary lights will be on - "check engine" or "voltage" or "car just doesn't feel like it") and noticed that somewhere in the midst of all of the recent Triple A/repair shop activity Lumi had passed the 100,000 mile mark - he is officially an "old car".
I forgave my car then and there for his recent behavior...everyone is allowed a little midlife crisis.
Fortunately, there have been no temper tantrums since that week and we are aiming for 150,000.
I was really surprised when several Thursdays ago my loyal Lumina left me in a bit of a tight spot...more specifically, on a tight spot on the side of a busy road during rush hour. I was making my way to Bethesda on Canal Road in DC in the middle of the evening rush. Traffic was backed up and moving slowly when all of a sudden Lumi's voltage light came on and his steering wheel locked up. My heart stopped and my knuckles turned white as I looked both directions and saw only a wall on one side and a ledge on the other and I realized that, if I didn't find a place to pull over fast, my car very well might just stop in the middle of the 2-lane road. Please, Lumi, please, not right now...keep going. He did keep going long enough to reach a little area of gravel on the side of the road. I pulled off and surveyed the damage. Everything looked just great, except of course for the smoke wafting out from underneath the hood and the not so faint smell of burning anti-freeze. Mmmmm...anti-freeze.
These are the moments that make the value of Triple A entirely clear - the times when a clueless girl (and I hate to promote stereotypes but, dammit, I am what I am) is stuck on the side of the road with a car who is throwing a temper tantrum. Yes, I have visions of being one of those cool women who takes off her suit jacket, pulls back her hair, and starts fixing her own car...but I'm just not. Experience from past breakdowns has taught me to, instead, pull out my handy Triple A card, take a seat, and wait for the tow truck.
It was a lonely hour and a half as I waited with Lumi along Canal Road. I thought about the dinner I was missing with my friends, about the impact this fun little experience was going to have on my bank account (which was just starting to look healthy), about how early I would have to get up the next morning to get to work on time via public transportation (the answer to that question, by the way, is 5 AM). More than anything, I thought about how Lumi had betrayed me and how angry I was that my little car couldn't just get me to Bethesda like I asked. It was a good time to reflect on my history with Lumi:
I once left Lumi parked for 5 hours in a not so great area of town with the keys dangling from the drivers side door. Yes, that's right, the keys (door key, ignition key, my house key) dangling on the OUTSIDE of the car. "Hello potential car thieves, please take my car. Look, you don't even have to break in!" I suppose the fact that nobody took him (despite the availability of the keys) also says something about Lumi...he's a bit unfortunate-looking (but in a lovable way).
I have lost both of Lumi's side view mirrors at different times (the passenger side more than once). I don't really use side view mirrors when driving (hmmm...maybe I should) and DC law only requires 2 of your 3 rear-view mirrors be in working condition (yes, I've asked) so losing one isn't all that big a deal. The main problem is that a broken side view mirror makes Lumi look, well, kind of stupid. When the side view mirrors break on some cars they just fall off completely but Lumi has a strong, black, tubey-thing (I believe that's the technical term) which connects his mirrors to the car so when a mirror falls off, it just dangles there, helplessly. I have to say, it's pretty sad to see and it looks even worse when the car is moving over 40 mph. I can't tell you the number of times I've passed cars on a highway and looked up to see people pointing and laughing at one of Lumi's mirrors blowing around in the wind. Not that it matters to him...he's not really worried about that kind of thing...but I feel bad.
Lumi does not have a single cupholder(apparently in the mid-90s people didn't need cupholders). As a result, many a beverage has been spilled on Lumi's floor and upholstry (a nice light brown color that shows every single dribble and spill). You can clearly see all of the places in the car where I've tried to create a cupholder because those are the places with the most spills - wedged between the door and seat, leaning up against the arm rest,propped up in the passenger side seat.
I guess that in some ways the car has every right to be frustrated with me, every right to be angry with its neglectful owner, every right to start showing some attitude. It would be hard not to be at least a little bit grumpy as a virtual senior citizen in the car world - all of the cute little cars from the '00s driving around with their flashy satellite radio and onstar and cupholders and windows that roll down (Lumi's passenger side window is out of commission)...and then you have the snotty little hybrids (not only are they cuter than Lumi but they've got the whole "reducing the carbon footprint"/ holier-than-thou thing going on).
As I sat there thinking about my adventures with Lumi, the tow truck arrived and I realized within about a second that the driver was an old friend of Lumi and me. This was the very truck driver who towed Lumi the last time he didn't start. That night had involved a significant level of fear on my part as the driver (let's call him Bob) drove the tow truck, with my poor car helplessly dangling in the back, faster than I would have formerly though possible and knowingly executed multiple illegal and terrifying turns and maneuvers through heavy DC traffic, arguing with his girlfriend on the phone the entire time. In the end, that night turned out ok because I was able to give Bob some girl advice and he got Lumi to the garage in one piece, making it a fair exchange.
Bob didn't seem to remember me as clearly as I remembered him and I was ok with that.
This trip to the garage turned out to be almost as memorable as the first one as Bob managed to block traffic in both directions for what felt like 15 minutes (probably closer to 2...but still!)in order to get my car on the truck, made 2 wrong turns (followed by 2 incredibly illegal U turns to correct the mistakes) at high speeds, and had a few yelling matches with various drivers who disapproved of his towing methods and his driving in general. There weren't any arguments with his girlfriend this time but I definitely got an earful about his boss. Eventually he got me to the garage safely and without incident. He's a nice guy and a great tow truck driver but I hope I don't see Bob again any time soon.
When our favorite mechanic Walter called the next day, the news wasn't great (or cheap) but Lumi was all better and things were back to normal (or so I thought).
3 days later I had to call Triple A again because Lumi's battery died.
1 day after that I had to call Triple A again because I locked my keys in the car while I was buying groceries. Luckily nothing was frozen or melt-able but it was a long 2 hour wait in the Giant parking lot and let me tell you, it's hard not to look kind of shady sitting on the hood of your car eating crackers in a grocery store parking lot.
3 days later I noticed that Lumi's steering wheel started shaking when I drove over 55mph and he had to go back to see Walter (no Triple A was involved this time). The tires needed to be moved around (on a scale of 1-10 of Lumi problems, about a 3).
Needless to say, I was beyond frustrated with my car and his issues. Then, a few days after his last visit to Walter everything became clear. I looked down at the display area by the steering wheel (an area I try to avoid looking at out of the very real fear that one of the scary lights will be on - "check engine" or "voltage" or "car just doesn't feel like it") and noticed that somewhere in the midst of all of the recent Triple A/repair shop activity Lumi had passed the 100,000 mile mark - he is officially an "old car".
I forgave my car then and there for his recent behavior...everyone is allowed a little midlife crisis.
Fortunately, there have been no temper tantrums since that week and we are aiming for 150,000.
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