Tunes in the Car, Will Travel

One really sweet thing about not having Florence anymore is that I now have a car that is slightly newer. 1991 Honda Accord - six whole years younger! Some friends at church had wanted to get a truck for the last 12 years, and when they heard about my accident, thought it might be the perfect opportunity to bless me. So amazingly cool how God works!

So not only does this car meet my needs for transportation, it also has a sunroof, auto windows and locks, and is a station wagon (so lots more room for stuff). And did I mention cruise control? When I was touring around last year, that was one thing I really wished I had. Those 9 hour drives are no joke.

With all these modern amenities, I thought "hey, why not go overboard and get a real stereo system - with a CD player or something so I can listen to something besides the radio". So my friend Ethan had an extra one lying around which happened to be perfect for my needs - a car CD-player/radio with an aux input for an MP3 player. Pretty cool. Now I just had to figure out how to install it.

Accordingly, around lunch time the other day I began the installation process. And was it a process! I realize now that I should have videotaped the whole thing because it was actually quite humorous. I thought it wouldn't take too long, a couple hours and I'd have it changed out... The reality was a total of 5 hours, with a trip to the store for extra tools. Do you realize that they make some screws impossible to get at?!! The most time-consuming part was connecting the wires (they don't leave much room for this sort of thing, and there are like 50 million of them that have to be properly connected according to the little diagram) and then trying to get it all to fit back properly into the right spot. Honda does not make it easy...

But all's well that ends well - and I now have tunes in my car! Which makes it much easier to listen to mixes and all the CDs that people have given me on my travels. I may still need to invest in an MP3 player (anyone have one lying around that they're not using?) and a new radio antenna (the one I have is a mechanical extender whose motor has broken), and I'm wondering if there's some sort of wire mesh stuff that will help protect against skipping (though it's only skipped once since I put it in, when I happened to drive over a HUGE pothole). It is pretty amazing though - this is the first car I've had where I can listen to music of my own choice. And the choices are endless!

Saying Goodbye to Florence

When I first met Florence five years ago, I had just graduated from college. She happened to be born in 1985, just a couple years younger than me, and I was struck by her beautiful voice. We hit it off wonderfully from the beginning - she always seemed to be free when I wanted to go somewhere and so we spent lots of time together. We would go shopping, out on the town, and many times to visit friends. When I went out on tour she accompanied me over the 6,000 plus miles. With just a change of oil, she sang like a nightingale.

Yup, Florence was my car, a 1985 Toyota Tercel hatchback. When I bought her she had 35,000 miles. Five years later she has 104,000 and still runs great. Unfortunately, Florence and I got into an accident in Philly the week of Thanksgiving and will cost $1000 to fix. It's a thousand dollars that I don't have, so I guess it's time to move on.. Tomorrow I'll be driving Florence to the junk yard for the last time. I'm hoping one of the mechanics there will take pity on her and spend the time and effort to fix or replace her door. If that does happen she'll have many more miles and years to run.

In retrospect, we've had a good life together, but fortunately life does not consist of possessions. The past few months have reminded me that everything we have comes from God, and that attachment to the physical objects around us can be detrimental to our spiritual development. I guess the important thing is to be able to recognize the gifts around us and be willing to relinquish them when we must. So here's to Florence!