Searching for My Sopwith Camel

So, a month has passed since my last blog on this thing. The new place is going fine, even with a few bumps on the road, including having the hot water cut off thanks to an overdue gas bill. I actually saved up enough dough to actually purchase a new laptop. With all these things going for me, it's obvious there's one thing missing: my own ride, and I don't mean having a cab take me everywhere. It's been over 5 years since I drove around Rockford in my own car. That drought will end in 2015. Do I know how much will I have saved up at the time I see the ride I want? Do I even know what kind of damn car I want? Since I've been driving minivans for the longest time, let alone the vehicle I mainly use to transport folks across this dump, chances can be good I'll stick with that. Over the years I have driven cars, minivans, cubed vans, cargo vans, yet no trucks. I drove an SUV for a grand total of five minutes. No big whoop there. The goal is to save up enough dough to buy outright a set of wheels. never said anything about it had to be brand-spankin' new. That can hopefully lead me to a better job where I'll have more time to work on my travel business and reclaim some of the moments I had over a decade ago. Going to see the latest movies, shopping at Walmart during the wee hours of the night, maybe a trip to the casinos over in Elgin and elsewhere. Just because I've aged 10 years doesn't mean I have to act like it.

There are these wheels out there called the Honda Element, which is like a minivan spliced with something like a station wagon. Here me out on this: If this winds up being my next set of wheels, I'll be happy with it. I'd also personally decorate it out a little by coloring it orange and having a 5 on each side door. When I explained this vision to some of my passengers, they mostly don't get it. Ah, but those esoteric people that wold see this creation will understand the analogy with near substantial ease. Those folks out there reading my blog probably won't get it so I'm going to explain it in three simple words: The Fifth Element. That Bruce Willis movie came out almost 20 years ago and it's one of my all-time favorite movies to watch. Orange was the main color on Korben Dallas (Willis' character) and Leeloo (Milla Jovovich). Why is that flick so understandable? Hello, we BOTH drive cabs! One is science fiction and the other, well, currently exists. 

A diddy you should know: most of the minivans that I've driven over the years have had a minor flaw--it always had low headroom. This means I've had to literally duck my head to get into and out the ride. I've had numerous occasions when my hair was adequately coiffed until getting into those vans, resulting in some scathing results along with the perennial bumps. At the cab company where I drive, many of those minivans have caused me to improvise the way my hair looks. I routinely wear a bandana to keep everyone guessing. Leaves only a trace of visible hair in the back...which can be strange, knowing that yours truly mainly drives at night. How the fuck can they see what my hair color looks like wrapped up in limited light? What are they, magicians?

I do regret that my size has ballooned up a bit since the last time I regularly drove an actual car. Lord knows I'm not the first nor last plus-sized person who has had trouble fastening the damn seat belt. My taste in cars has apparently changed very little over this time. OK, maybe mid-sized to full-sized. Since arriving here in Rockford in 1999, I have driven a 1991 Plymouth Acclaim, a 1990 Pontiac Bonneville, a 1991 Buick LeSabre, a 1994 Dodge Caravan, a 1994 Mercury Villager, a 1997 Plymouth Voyager, and another 1994 Dodge Caravan. They all had multiple doors for any possible company, laundry, groceries and anything else. Why, you may ask, have I never owned a two-door car? You can blame that on my dad. Throughout his life I had seen him own two Buick 4-doors ('72 LeSabre and '81 Century) plus a '77 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight and a '76 Chevy van. Charlotte, my elder sis,  once had a '80 Chevy Nova then a mid-'80's Geo Prism, both 4-doors, might I add. My cousin owned a '72 Nova, which he built the motor himself after doing a Yul Brenner from Milwaukee to Mississippi just to pick up the body frame in one weekend, and currently owns a '95 Camaro. I hope his ugly-ass wife doesn't get the keys to that!! So that qualification in getting another ride may or may not have that similar trait. Or, hell, I'll try something different....like a Jeep!!