Each handicap is like a hurdle in a steeplechase, and when you ride up to it, if you throw your heart over, the horse will go along, too. ~~Lawrence Bixby

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

It's Elemental

Car shopping is not what it used to be. It’s still near the top of the list of things I’d rather not be doing (somewhere between moving and prepping for a colonoscopy) but the internet has made it so much easier than it used to be. There’s Consumer Reports online to do some initial comparisons, all sorts of sites for professional and consumer reviews, and even some sites that will check inventories to find what you’re looking for within a specified mile radius (e.g. Edmunds) – just plug in the criteria and voila! From there you can contact the dealer directly via email and (believe me) they’ll get back to you with specifics. The price is locked in. You go test drive and decide. Oh, they still sit you in their extremely high stim waiting area (which makes me want to run screaming out the door) and try to sell you extended warranties and windshield glazing and security systems and on and on. But if you go in strong-willed, you can just say no thanks to the extras and off you go!

And off we went! With a 2008 Honda Element: a certified used car with good warranty, low miles, great condition - even a color we both love! It’s so much easier for me to get in and out of than our low-to-the-ground Saturn, there’s tons of storage, it’s very solid and safe, and Laurie has her own cup holder! (Big selling point.)


Next steps: I’ll take it to our mobility shop to outfit it with hand controls and figure out the best ramp system for the scooter.




Ready for a road trip!

It looks good in front of our house!

She needs a name - suggestions are welcome!

7 comments:

Terri said...

You could call her Billie - after Billie Holiday who sang such amazing "blues". :)

Linda Koons said...

Or after Dylan's "It's all over now, Baby Blue"

Cate said...

"Billie" is a good one. There's also 'Ella' as in Fitzgerald (and in 'Ele-ment')!

Terri said...

Yeah, I was thinking Ellie but I know a couple of Ellies and not sure how they'd feel about that! Ella is good. I also considered Watson - as in, it's Elemental, dear Watson.

Unknown said...

She is your first Element, so that would make her... hydrogen. Hmm. Not such an appealing thought?

DeEtte Beghtol Waleed said...

I've been reading the letters of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. How about Alice Blue.

DeEtte Beghtol Waleed said...

I also want to comment about the map of the world you have at the bottom of your blog. Some friends and I were discussing recently the unfairness - and really, inacuracy - of the world map as we're used to seeing it. Who says that north is on top? Why not turn it upside down so that south is on top? Since this blog is about seeing the world in a different way and perhaps even turning the world upside down, why not turn your map the other way up?