Yet another update on Musical Cars.
Dear Reader, you are simply not going to believe what I have to report this time about our car situation. But it is all too true.
At precisely 12:06am (that's just after midnight for you am/pm challenged folk) a couple of weeks ago, there was a knock at our door. Now, one teenager is in France so I didn't think it could have to do with her. The other teenager was safely tucked into her computer in her room. The younger children were long gone to slumberland. So, who could it possibly be? Should we even answer the door? Is one of our neighbors in trouble? Should we get the bat? Well, no, if it were a robber or intruder of some sort, why the knock? A polite thug? These thoughts are not coherent because they occurred in a flash, and they occurred, as I mentioned, at 12:06am.
Omaha's Finest*, it turns out, work the night shift, and the fact that the rest of us may be sleeping does not deter them from carrying out their duties.
And what was the infraction that brought this particular officer to our door, you may ask? Well, the fact that one of the cars in our driveway had Iowa license plates on it. I couldn't believe my ears. I even asked quietly if it was a joke. I was assured by the officer that it was not a joke. Uh-oh. We were busted.
A little background...we have the six cars. Three of them are licensed here in Omaha, Nebraska, and the other three, two trucks and a car, are registered in Iowa since we use the trucks on the farm (which is located in Iowa and on which we pay taxes) and the car to go back and forth delivering produce during the growing season. Right now is not the growing season and the car has been on vacation here in Nebraska. Logical, no? Well, no, as it turns out. You see, the rule is, any car that is located in the state of Nebraska for 30 days or more must be licensed in Nebraska. (Oh, did you figure out that it's a little bit cheaper to register a car in Iowa than in Nebraska? Yes, we have deep, dark motives for our anti-social behaviour!)
Our visitor was understanding and gave us some ideas about how to redeem ourselves. I spent the next half a day getting bumped back and forth among various municipal departments that handle such matters and finally was told the following: one of our neighbors must not have a life and called in the fact that a car with an Iowa plate was sitting in our driveway for more than the 30 days maximum. We were instructed to keep the car parked in a garage when not in use.
Seriously? Seriously.
It seems to me that said neighbor should be given the bill for the taxpayer dollars that were wasted in having that officer come to our house at midnight (he probably gets time and a half for working the night shift) and another bill for wasting my half a day calling around and another bill for all the time city bureaucrats spent on the other end of those calls trying to figure out what to do with us. And for good measure, let's add a penalty on top of it all for just being silly.
Ah, what a perfect world that would be!
*For those of you across the pond, police officers
Showing posts with label trucks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trucks. Show all posts
April 3, 2009
March 17, 2009
Water, Water Everywhere and Nary a Drop to Drink.
(a.k.a.: A second update on Musical Cars)
Those of you who follow this blog may find it hard to believe the following: I was without a car this morning. Yes, we have six cars for three drivers, but, as fate would have it in her twisted sense of humor, the planets aligned this morning to make it impossible for me to drive anywhere. You see, one vehicle is at the farm. One is the one My Honey drives to work and he left early this fine morning. One is the one our teenager drives and there's the rub. She took her car to the shop to try to figure out the cause of its dying now and then. Rather than get my big, fat, you-know-what out of bed at o-dark-hundred this morning to give her a ride, I gave her the keys to the car I usually drive, assuming that, with the plethora of cars around here, that I'd be able to take the little ones to school this morning in some sort of secondary conveyance. Ah, was I mistaken! Of the two cars remaining, one was in the garage and the other was right behind it, jacked up with a missing wheel, rendering both unusuable.
Fortunately, it was an unexpectedly warm and beautiful spring morning here in Omaha (60+ degrees) so the little ones didn't mind walking the few blocks to school. They even called a friend and made an event of it, bless their little hearts. Fortunately, also, I didn't have anything planned that necessitated a car. Fortunately, finally, the teenager felt the need to get her car back from the shop (they couldn't figure out what was wrong, by the way) at lunch time (friends were meeting at a local restaurant, after all) and, therefore, freed up my car for moi! I still didn't need to go anywhere in particular.
But, hey, order was restored in the universe.
Those of you who follow this blog may find it hard to believe the following: I was without a car this morning. Yes, we have six cars for three drivers, but, as fate would have it in her twisted sense of humor, the planets aligned this morning to make it impossible for me to drive anywhere. You see, one vehicle is at the farm. One is the one My Honey drives to work and he left early this fine morning. One is the one our teenager drives and there's the rub. She took her car to the shop to try to figure out the cause of its dying now and then. Rather than get my big, fat, you-know-what out of bed at o-dark-hundred this morning to give her a ride, I gave her the keys to the car I usually drive, assuming that, with the plethora of cars around here, that I'd be able to take the little ones to school this morning in some sort of secondary conveyance. Ah, was I mistaken! Of the two cars remaining, one was in the garage and the other was right behind it, jacked up with a missing wheel, rendering both unusuable.
Fortunately, it was an unexpectedly warm and beautiful spring morning here in Omaha (60+ degrees) so the little ones didn't mind walking the few blocks to school. They even called a friend and made an event of it, bless their little hearts. Fortunately, also, I didn't have anything planned that necessitated a car. Fortunately, finally, the teenager felt the need to get her car back from the shop (they couldn't figure out what was wrong, by the way) at lunch time (friends were meeting at a local restaurant, after all) and, therefore, freed up my car for moi! I still didn't need to go anywhere in particular.
But, hey, order was restored in the universe.
March 10, 2009
An Update on Musical Cars
As luck (ha!) would have it, all five of the vehicles were lined up just right for a nice snapshot the other day.
(Number six is at the farm.)
I have come to the sad realization that I have been complicit in the stockpiling of vehicles. It seems that there is a good reason to have each and every one. When My Honey suggested selling the Lexus, I balked. ("That's the car I usually drive, it's paid off, it's not worth as much to anyone else.") So, we move on to considering the little Toyota truck. ("Well, it gets the best gas mileage, My Honey drives it to work.") Ok. So, how about the big red truck? ("It's useful for taking loads to the farm, it has the extended cab for the girls.")
Do you see how it happens?
Much to My Mother's bemusement, we have also come to understand how we are the embodiment of a pattern established generations ago of "Guys who Accumulate Vehicles and the Women who Love Them".
So, here's to you, Grandma and Grandpa! May you rest in peace knowing the tradition survives!
(Number six is at the farm.)I have come to the sad realization that I have been complicit in the stockpiling of vehicles. It seems that there is a good reason to have each and every one. When My Honey suggested selling the Lexus, I balked. ("That's the car I usually drive, it's paid off, it's not worth as much to anyone else.") So, we move on to considering the little Toyota truck. ("Well, it gets the best gas mileage, My Honey drives it to work.") Ok. So, how about the big red truck? ("It's useful for taking loads to the farm, it has the extended cab for the girls.")
Do you see how it happens?
Much to My Mother's bemusement, we have also come to understand how we are the embodiment of a pattern established generations ago of "Guys who Accumulate Vehicles and the Women who Love Them".
So, here's to you, Grandma and Grandpa! May you rest in peace knowing the tradition survives!
March 3, 2009
Musical Cars
You would never know there's a recession/depression/high gas prices/any problems at all with the economy by the burgeoning fleet of vehicles in our driveway.
It seems there is a bug that infects a man who becomes a farmer. This bug drives said man to buy used cars/trucks/tractors 'til the cows come home, as it were. It has taken over My Honey for the past couple of years. (Until this bug struck, we were happily driving a 1998 Lexus, which we still have.)
First, of course, we needed a farm truck. We bought an old Ford F-150 when we bought the farm in 2006 and it is worth its weight in gold at the farm. (Four-wheel drive and all that, you know.) OK. Fine. I'm down with that. Every farm needs a farm truck.
Then, we had to have truck in which to go back and forth to the farm. (Don't ask why. There is no cogent answer here. The old Lexus could have served just fine in this capacity.) So, we bought a shiny, red truck last Valentine's Day (very a propos, no?) This truck was only a two-wheel drive, however (a fatal flaw on the farm during snowy, wet, muddy, almost any weather).
So, naturally, that leads us to "a truck that goes back and forth to the farm and has four-wheel drive". "But, of course!", you may say. Yes, of course. My Honey would agree wholeheartedly. So, the search began for a four-wheel drive, SUV-type car/truck that fit the bill. Enter 'Little Blue':
Little Blue is a 1993 Ford Explorer that needed front end work. (Oh, joy of joys!)
Look at this face. He thrives on fixing these old things.
Meanwhile, paralleling the "trucks that go to and live at the farm" My Honey came up with "I need a truck to go back and forth to work and has decent gas mileage". Meet the 1982 Toyota that gets better gas mileage than almost anything out there! (Are you keeping a running count? We're up to five vehicles now, and I haven't even mentioned that our teenage daughter has my old Nissan. That makes six!)
No, the number of drivers has not increased. We're still at three (counting the teenager).
Fortunately, all of these purchases are in the hundreds of dollars, not thousands. But still...
Here is part of the fleet in the driveway.
In the interest of efficiency, I asked My Honey if we could get rid of something. He promises that if he gets the latest vehicle working, we may be able to sell the red truck.
I'm not holding my breath.
It seems there is a bug that infects a man who becomes a farmer. This bug drives said man to buy used cars/trucks/tractors 'til the cows come home, as it were. It has taken over My Honey for the past couple of years. (Until this bug struck, we were happily driving a 1998 Lexus, which we still have.)
First, of course, we needed a farm truck. We bought an old Ford F-150 when we bought the farm in 2006 and it is worth its weight in gold at the farm. (Four-wheel drive and all that, you know.) OK. Fine. I'm down with that. Every farm needs a farm truck.
Then, we had to have truck in which to go back and forth to the farm. (Don't ask why. There is no cogent answer here. The old Lexus could have served just fine in this capacity.) So, we bought a shiny, red truck last Valentine's Day (very a propos, no?) This truck was only a two-wheel drive, however (a fatal flaw on the farm during snowy, wet, muddy, almost any weather).
So, naturally, that leads us to "a truck that goes back and forth to the farm and has four-wheel drive". "But, of course!", you may say. Yes, of course. My Honey would agree wholeheartedly. So, the search began for a four-wheel drive, SUV-type car/truck that fit the bill. Enter 'Little Blue':
Little Blue is a 1993 Ford Explorer that needed front end work. (Oh, joy of joys!)
Look at this face. He thrives on fixing these old things.
Meanwhile, paralleling the "trucks that go to and live at the farm" My Honey came up with "I need a truck to go back and forth to work and has decent gas mileage". Meet the 1982 Toyota that gets better gas mileage than almost anything out there! (Are you keeping a running count? We're up to five vehicles now, and I haven't even mentioned that our teenage daughter has my old Nissan. That makes six!)
No, the number of drivers has not increased. We're still at three (counting the teenager).
Fortunately, all of these purchases are in the hundreds of dollars, not thousands. But still...
Here is part of the fleet in the driveway.
In the interest of efficiency, I asked My Honey if we could get rid of something. He promises that if he gets the latest vehicle working, we may be able to sell the red truck.
I'm not holding my breath.
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