Monday, October 22, 2007

We Can't Have Nice Things - 2 - The Car

As I was taking these pictures, then downloading them, I had to decide if I was too emabarassed to show them. I guess I have no shame. For ease of reference, I've divided the pictures into specific sections.

I. PHYSICAL DAMAGE:
A. No good deed goes unpunished.
Andy was away on business at the same time that my youngest sister totalled her car (I know, bad omen). Rather than her shelling out the money on a rental, I told her to take my truck for a few days while Andy was traveling and I'd drive his car. How can I get mad at her when she was hit and run in a parking lot? I can't - Andy can get a 'little' mad...
B. Why Andy can't be mad at my sister anymore.
I previously mentioned Andy's boat, That Kintner Boy and that he'd gotten most of the parts from Ebay. One such part involved a drive to a farm in Rhode Island. After carefully loading the parts into the back of the truck in big plastic bins to keep the back neat, he proceeded to drive into a huge boulder located directly in front of where he'd parked my truck.

C. From dual zone control to zero zone control (what a metaphor).
As a child, I fondly remember sitting in my friend's father's car and playing "driving" and thinking my parents were total party poopers for not letting us play in their cars. Uh, well, if you look closely, you'll see the shiny copper of a penny stuck in the bottom of the slots where the heat/AC controls should go. Attempting to remove the loose change (the penny has friends) cost us both hand controls. We now rely on a old house key to adjust the heat. Very handy.

II. TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

A. Can you say "peripheral vision impairment"?
Last year, HRH was having some difficulty with some of his pronunciation, so we signed him up for speech therapy. After each session, the therapist would give him a sticker for a job well done. After the first visit, he was so proud of his sticker, he asked if he could place it on the window. I, of course agreed. Never in my wildest imaginings did I envision just how many places will hand out stickers to preschoolers when asked using perfect diction and an adorable smile. You may recognize the top ones as the labels Starbucks uses to denote different blends of coffees. They're the kids' favorites.
B. The 'way back' Mr. Peabody.
Here we've got leis and stuff from the Jimmy Buffett concert on Labor Day, my yoga bag, grocery bags (I'm so green), hand-me-downs returned by my sister more than a week ago that still haven't made it into my house, the stroller, an extra sweatshirt or 12, and to be honest, I just don't know what else.

III. SUPERFUND SITES
A. Harboring that Supervirus Bossy Mentioned
This is the door handle on RC's side of the car. Other than the lollypop sticks, I really can't identify the what else is there. I don't open or close his door from the inside so it took me a while to even notice this petrie dish.
B. What? His Feet Don't Touch The Floor
This is the floor in front of the seat where I allow my child to sit. Whatever he's got in his hands, gets immediately dumped - M&Ms, goldfish, vanilla milk from Starbucks, giant M&M cookie from Starbucks (are we sensing a pattern here?) orange crackers, etc. I know; stop letting him eat in the car. NOT AN OPTION.
** In answer to the question all of you are asking, yes, these pictures did shame me into taking the car to the good car wash that vacuums it out for you. And yes, I tipped well.

7 comments:

Suburban Correspondent said...

I have those earth-friendly grocery sacks in my car, too. But do I ever have one when I am in the grocery store? Uh-uh. No way. Impossible.

You truly have no shame. You drove all the way down here, took pics of my car's interior, and posted them on your blog as yours. You'll be hearing from my lawyer.

Anonymous said...

*glances side to side shiftily*
Wow, I didn't know you had a younger sister!

Anonymous said...

SC: It makes me feel better airing my dirtly laundry, I mean car, when others tell me they live in the same squalor.

Have your lawyer call my lawyer. They can take the kids; we'll have lunch.

BOSSY said...

Bossy's camera won't allow car shots for fear of Police Action.

Mrs. G. said...

Where did you get this photo of the back of my car? I am so glad to know I'm not the only mom driving around with a car full of sucker sticks and french fries from 1997

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

Hi Manic Mommy--I'm ONE TOO!

Your car... wow, you are a brave mom!

Jennifer said...

You know that looks alot like my van. Everytime I get in it I think I need to clean it out before I have this baby next week because I would (should be - but not really, LOL) be so embarrased to have the burse put my newborn in my van that has crap everywhere. I can just simagine my response - I believe in germ exposure from day one, can you tell, LOL.
~Jennifer

 

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