Saying yes...

The darkest hour is just before dawn...

We stayed in a number of different places while on the road. Some were chosen in advance... some were merely chosen by where we wanted to go that day or when we wanted to stop. One thing did not change... when we got there, Grizzled let me decide which side of the bed I was sleeping on.

Grizzled and I have been sharing beds for over 2 decades now. He said he used to think I always chose the same side, no matter the room, but he soon learned that was wrong. He then said he thought it was the side farthest away from the door, but that wasn't right either. He then realized it was safest to just let me pick... my picking being done the minute I walk in. I sense the side I want and plop my stuff down. I have been known to switch sides during a visit though if the room doesn't feel right, even though I know switching sides won't necessarily help. Sometimes the bed is just off.

We stayed in one of these rooms while on the road. It did not feel good to me and neither did the bed. I woke up in the middle of the night, certain something was in front of me. I could feel it. If I opened my eyes, I'd see it and I didn't want to. I also knew I had a chair next to my side of the bed and had put a bunch of my stuff in it so that was probably it. I opened my eyes and sure enough, saw a large, dark mass. I reached out, felt one of my bags and then something else that didn't feel familiar. I jumped and made some panicked noise.  I snatched my hand back in as fast as I could, pulled up the covers even though it was hot, and inched over to Grizzled's side... slowly enough that he wouldn't realize he only had 5 inches on which to sleep... and then I waited... it was a long night.

I'm not afraid of a lot, but my senses/imagination can have their way with me in the dark. Maybe it was too many horror movies as a kid... one too many scary novels, or camping out with friends and trying to scare the bejesus out of each other... or my brothers, who liked to torment like only brothers can... I like to be scared, but when I choose. I don't like to be afraid at night, which is why I'm glad I don't have to sleep alone... even when I was alone, I still had a dog. 

I remember when I was much younger and my grandmother was still alive and living by herself, I would ask her if she was afraid at night, wasn't she tempted to sleep with a light on... somewhere?? (She had a creepy basement with dirt walls... and a scary attic... those two places would immediately pop into my mind if I was staying overnight at her otherwise wonderful house....) She said she grew up with no electricity so darkness did not bother her. She also had the Lord to look over her... Well, Grandma's Lord gave me a wicked imagination that likes to mess with me... so again, I am glad I don't have to sleep alone. I am also glad I have someone who can sleep anywhere... and doesn't mind that I need to pick my side of the bed... or who doesn't mind when I leave him only 5 inches to sleep on because I am sure that something out of Grandma's basement is sitting next to my side.

The sinister wooly bison still haunts me... and it was in our hotel room that night... I know it.

Needs more autogrizzled...

As semi-promised... we bring you, Grizzled:

At some point, I decided I was only going to buy American cars. As a kid I remember reading the twine bundles as I loaded them into the hay baler on my uncles farm, "Buy American." I asked my grandfather what that meant. He said buying American made goods meant that I was supporting our economy and maintaining American jobs. Seemed easy enough. American cars were cool, fast, cushy, powerful and gas was 35 cents a gallon.

By the time I could afford a car, gas was 90 cents a gallon. Eight years had passed. American cars were awful boxes that were horrifically underpowered, used marginal technology, and handled like horse sledges on ice. I bought a Toyota pick up truck. Parts were more expensive, but it rarely needed parts. It had a slick, fuel efficient engine matched with a 5-speed gearbox. It was a blast to drive; a sports car that could handle a payload.

I watched as American manufacturing slumped, witnessed first hand the shift to a service economy. Sixteen years had passed. I bought a Chevy pick up truck. Awesome truck. Base vehicle with a V-8, throttle body fuel injection, automatic transmission. Of course, it was a first model year GM so it had a number of manufacturing defects. I tried not to let that bug me. It worked for me and I was supporting our economy. Gas was $1.82 a gallon.

Now I own a 12 year old Ford pick up truck, and an 11 year old Cadillac. Both substantial vehicles that have been remarkably reliable. Gas is $3.95 a gallon. Forty years have passed since my "Buy American" discussion with my grandfather.

But I'm getting geared up to buy again and I find myself in a quandry. I'm due for a mid-life crisis and I think it's going to be difficult to fulfill if I buy American. I need something impractical, without a roof, to truly accentuate my fat, American middle agedness. I'm not sure a Mustang convertible is going to do it. I may have to hold out a couple more years until Alfa Romeo returns to America.

Note from the administrator: Grizzled, you left out Blue Lou and the E.coli, aka, No-Class... not to mention that beater Malibu you had that Scott and I killed by ignoring the oil light.

Note to the rest of you... I am not a car person. Sure, there are ones I think are breathtakingly beautiful, fun, or cool... I would take a Shelby Cobra, I would die and go to heaven if I had an 60's VW Bug, I would love many, many that I see, but I really don't care. The running joke around here is that if someone asks me what kind of car just went by, I'll tell them the color. :-P I had no need for a car for the longest time, and when I did have the need... I have more or less driven what's shown up in my driveway, most not being my first choice, but being more than adequate for what I needed at the time, which is usually to get around, and have enough room for 4 people and two dogs. At some point in my life though, I think I need to actually purchase one... and one I want... if I can figure out what that is.