a death in the family . . .

so it seems that i forgot to mention that while we in jax, the cr-v started acting a little crazy.  it's an '01 so it is a tad temperamental.  that's 12 years old.  in doggie years that's 84.  in car years, it's no longer listed on edmunds.com.  ancient.  older than the hills. dead as dirt.  we had to back into a parking space in the student parking garage because i was thinking about access for a tow truck.  we were 88 miles from home.  but it held out . . . burping, sputtering, hissing, rattling and such.

on the way home, i told kidlet, 'if i yell bail, dive out of the car. fast.' i looked over and it was rocking and rolling so badly, i could see her body moving in time with the engine.  oh please, this is not good on the interstate while covered in picante.

we made it home and into the garage where kidlet showered it with praise, but the next day, i followed her to the mechanic.  two hours later, the phone rang.  the news was not good.  our mechanic believes in fixing until there is nothing left to fix but even he admitted it was time to put the old girl down.  she was running on only three cylinders.  her heart was congested.  her kidneys were failing.  we left her there and sadly headed home to form a plan. 

after explaining kidlet's attachment to small suv's, he suggested a toyota rav4, but kidlet had already hit the net and was thumbing through the hondas.  'ask paul what he thinks of the FIT', she begged.  he happily sanctioned her choice.

next stop, the honda dealership with the name of a good-guy salesperson, if there are any, tightly tucked in our pocket. a) he was recommended by our trusty mechanic.  b) he's a retired cop.  c) we were in dire straights.  gah.  what to do.

she fell in love with passion berry pearl.  yup, that's a color.  the catch is, there are only three in the state and two of those are on hold.  that leaves one in lakeland and it was out for a test drive.  we are waiting to see if it has found a home.  if not, her second pick is black.  they found it in black and can get it here tomorrow.

waiting for a phone call.  in the meantime, she is driving a 2012 loaner. zip. zip. see how fast she went to publix for me tonight.  zoom zoom.  no. wait.  that's me and my miata.

tomorrow will tell.

oh, p.s.  . . . and yes there is always a p.s.  we left to go to lunch while they were sharpening their pencils with their rat-like front teeth and rubbing their paws in expectancy of a sale, drooling with anticipation.  i needed some cash.  so we pulled into the familiar bank across from our japanese restaurant.  i inserted my card.  the screen popped up but looked strangely unfamiliar.  about the time it told me they would charge me $3 for the transaction my brain kicked into gear.  it has been well over a year since i left that bank for another.  holy dimes and nickles, batman!!!