Red Vans

I was up early this morning and drove my sister’s new van from Austin to Brenham. My parents, sister and brother-in-law and I have used the same salesman at the same dealership for 20 years. The dealership has a great service department and body shop and so we keep coming back. You know how hard it is to build up trust in that arena:)

The rear bumper of Colleen’s red van has to be replaced and painted, since some irresponsible ass smacked into it in a grocery-store parking lot and left the scene. There is something particularly irritating about this kind of repair - the pride of owning a new vehicle hasn’t worn off and yet some careless stranger intervenes, tarnishing the new car vibe.

This is Colleen’s fourth red van over the years. You think she might like a change; but there is a serious reason she sticks with this specific choice. My special needs nephew, Ross, is obsessed with red vans. He won’t ride in anything else without acting out. He wants to be in a red van and in the right rear corner of the third seat. (This is also practical... when he is that far back he can’t interfere with the driver.)

Sis just sold her previous red van to the company that runs the group home where Ross lives. Colleen took a big loss, but the company desperately needed newer, more affordable and safer transportation for taking the kids to appointments. Colleen stepped up to the plate. Now Ross is riding to his appointments in a van he knows very well and everyone...Colleen, Ross, Ross’ caregivers and the company owners are much happier. Advocacy comes in many forms...

It is the first time I’ve driven a van in years. Colleen’s comes with all of the bells and whistles and drives beautifully, but I felt funny driving it. I felt different driving it. I’m used to my big honkin’ truck, sitting up and surveying all of those poor folks below me, consigned to driving mere cars and Suvs:) It’s a “king of the road” conceit (insert old Roger Miller song here:), I know; but I really did feel like some soccer daddy dropping the kids off at school.) It was almost like my testosterone level had dropped just because of the kind of vehicle I was driving.

Mom picked me up at the dealership just a bit ago in their big honkin’ truck, so my beard and back hair are starting to grow again, my voice is lowering back to its normal baritone and my sensitivities are toughening up as I write. Whew... :)

I’ll have to suffer through the same thing tomorrow when I return to Austin with the repaired van; but I will be strong:) I’ll have one more 90-minute dip in testosterone, then my brief role as a soccer daddy in a red van will be over.

Random sightings:

A police car broken down on the side of the road... no one was stopping to help:)

Gas in Giddings, Texas for $1.69/gallon; right next to a station with gas for $1.87/gallon... both prices are for regular unleaded, self-serve gas and are the same octane. Who in their right mind would pay 18 cents a gallon more for the same product when you have a choice?

A Lowes and a Home Depot going up on either side of the Wal-Mart Superstore in Brenham. It’s over-kill for a town of 12,000. I imagine within a year the three existing suppliers of such goods....Sutherlands, McCoys and Woodsons will be out of business ...and they call it progress?....course, it might be a good time to build....hmmm...

Red Vans

I was up early this morning and drove my sister’s new van from Austin to Brenham. My parents, sister and brother-in-law and I have used the same salesman at the same dealership for 20 years. The dealership has a great service department and body shop and so we keep coming back. You know how hard it is to build up trust in that arena:)

The rear bumper of Colleen’s red van has to be replaced and painted, since some irresponsible ass smacked into it in a grocery-store parking lot and left the scene. There is something particularly irritating about this kind of repair - the pride of owning a new vehicle hasn’t worn off and yet some careless stranger intervenes, tarnishing the new car vibe.

This is Colleen’s fourth red van over the years. You think she might like a change; but there is a serious reason she sticks with this specific choice. My special needs nephew, Ross, is obsessed with red vans. He won’t ride in anything else without acting out. He wants to be in a red van and in the right rear corner of the third seat. (This is also practical... when he is that far back he can’t interfere with the driver.)

Sis just sold her previous red van to the company that runs the group home where Ross lives. Colleen took a big loss, but the company desperately needed newer, more affordable and safer transportation for taking the kids to appointments. Colleen stepped up to the plate. Now Ross is riding to his appointments in a van he knows very well and everyone...Colleen, Ross, Ross’ caregivers and the company owners are much happier. Advocacy comes in many forms...

It is the first time I’ve driven a van in years. Colleen’s comes with all of the bells and whistles and drives beautifully, but I felt funny driving it. I felt different driving it. I’m used to my big honkin’ truck, sitting up and surveying all of those poor folks below me, consigned to driving mere cars and Suvs:) It’s a “king of the road” conceit (insert old Roger Miller song here:), I know; but I really did feel like some soccer daddy dropping the kids off at school.) It was almost like my testosterone level had dropped just because of the kind of vehicle I was driving.

Mom picked me up at the dealership just a bit ago in their big honkin’ truck, so my beard and back hair are starting to grow again, my voice is lowering back to its normal baritone and my sensitivities are toughening up as I write. Whew... :)

I’ll have to suffer through the same thing tomorrow when I return to Austin with the repaired van; but I will be strong:) I’ll have one more 90-minute dip in testosterone, then my brief role as a soccer daddy in a red van will be over.

Random sightings:

A police car broken down on the side of the road... no one was stopping to help:)

Gas in Giddings, Texas for $1.69/gallon; right next to a station with gas for $1.87/gallon... both prices are for regular unleaded, self-serve gas and are the same octane. Who in their right mind would pay 18 cents a gallon more for the same product when you have a choice?

A Lowes and a Home Depot going up on either side of the Wal-Mart Superstore in Brenham. It’s over-kill for a town of 12,000. I imagine within a year the three existing suppliers of such goods....Sutherlands, McCoys and Woodsons will be out of business ...and they call it progress?....course, it might be a good time to build....hmmm...