As
I was approaching R-day, it was time to turn in the silver Prius I had leased
three years before and to decide what car to lease or purchase for the
future. A decision of this magnitude –
well, let’s be honest, a decision of any magnitude – for me is a
challenge. Though the Prius had great
mileage, comfort, and sufficient roominess for two bicycles or lots of
soccer-playing girls on its side, it also had major blind spots, both front and
back, rattling me on many journeys. I
can’t tell you how many people in crosswalks I had nearly wiped out or how many
cars I had nearly crashed into while changing lanes during those three years!
And
so it was that I fulfilled my destiny, presaged – or should I say “instructed”
– by the fortune from a Chinese cookie about a dozen years ago when the Mini
was released and which I have carried around with me ever since. It said, “Buy the Red Car.” And so, finally, I did.
Now
you will find me in a little button of a chili-red Mini Cooper, changing lanes
faster than you can say “Bob’s your uncle” and taking that little spot between
two San Francisco driveways that defies parking by any other car. I can honestly say this is the most fun car
I’ve ever owned (except maybe the red Fiat I drove as a graduate student,
which my father always referred to as the red lemon), and gosh, it took retirement
to get there!
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