Drive My Car

"I got no car and it's breaking my heart / But I found a driver and that's a start"
                         --"Drive My Car" by The Beatles

by Brendan Cavanagh

This is a good year to buy a car. Thinking in the present, I realize how much I depend on other people for rides to and from various locations in Springfield. It's always a treat when I get to drive my family's sole car, which is a 2003 Mercury Monterey, a minivan. It has a good deal of horsepower, but unfortunately every single one of the horses that was initially involved in the manufacturing of my car has is dead. Except one. Therefore, I can only go from zero to thirty miles per hour in about sixty seconds, but once I get up to a moderate speed, the car shudders violently and practically screams at me to go easy on it. So I respectfully decelerate, but the brakes are pretty shoddy, which means I have to slow down in advance, mindful not to slam into the back of a car in front of me, though the whole process is really out of my control.

Thinking forward towards next semester, I realize how beneficial it would be to be able to drive to CVS every other day, or to drive into Indianapolis  to see the occasional show. And then the best reason to have my own form of transportation would be to travel to other schools and visit my friends once in a while. Indianapolis' bus / train system is virtually nonexistent to my knowledge, and no one seems to want to take me to another school over any weekends. What up with that?

I often dream of the day that I'll come into a ton of money. Like...a million dollars. I know the first thing I would buy is a black '96 Chevy Impala. Yes, the exact same model my grandma drives. It's probably the best car you can get nowadays. It's sleek exterior allows for smooth driving, and being lower to the ground than I would be in a minivan would be a nice change of pace. The sound system that comes with this type of Impala is sublime. When you roll up the windows and crank the bass to a modest level, you really get a good feel of the music you're playing. Also, the leather interior is unique and fun to sit on. I think the only downside to getting an Impala like this is that it comes with a device that heats up the driver's seat, which I strongly dislike. Not only does it cause my bottom to sweat profusely, but also it is usually on when I drive it after my grandma uses it, and I don't realize it for a while, so it's rather uncomfortable to realize what's going on and trying to adjust the temperature when I'm busy keeping my eyes on the road.

Pickup trucks are over-rated (except Carrie's). SUVs are obnoxious, and can be tough to distinguish from Law & Order: SVU when mentioned verbally in conversation. Hybrids are for queers.

Props to Carrie for the blog post suggestion.