My Escape.........

So, I decided NOT to go with the Salsa Vibe (vehicle). Even though the name itself was kind of fun, in person it just didn't do it for me. Not that I'm picky about cars. In fact, as long as it gets me from place to place, I'm okay with whatever wheels I have. Carmen isn't fussy either. With all of his traveling and daily commutes, he just beats vehicles to death. Come vacation time, we no longer bring our own personal vehicles anymore. We prefer to rent them. We learned that lesson a few years back. So, whatever we buy just has to fit our daily lives. But, here's the thing---looking for a new vehicle, test driving them, doing all that negotiating and finally spending the money to buy them just makes us both a little cranky. That's why I was hoping that the Salsa Vibe would win me over. The color was incredible. Definitely a Judi color. But, once inside, I felt a little, oh, I don't know, cramped. This meant that I had to find myself another car that would fit our life. But, I did not want to spend a lot of time doing it nor did I want to go through all the shenanigans of getting in my driveway. And, of course, the other issue is that I'm sort of on "light duty"---not really supposed to be driving. Plus, being on this liquid diet, my patience is not exactly in tact. I had the potential to be a car sales person's nightmare. Given my needs, my dear, dear friend Patty gave me a lift to a Ford dealer near the house. I told her to leave since I knew I'd be leaving with a vehicle. She pulled away, knowing that I would get what I came for. As I approached the door of the dealership, a peppy sales guy named Jim approached me. I gave him a rundown of what I wanted (I did not mention my liquid diet....). He pointed to a silver SUV type vehicle and said "fully loaded, just got it on the lot today." To be honest, I had no idea what "fully loaded" meant nor did I care. He rattled off things---leather interior, 6 CD changer, side airbags, running boards, sport details, yadda, yadda, yadda. "I was thinking of a red one" I told him. "Nothing like this in red right now" he told me. "But, it's fully loaded...." he repeated. Little did he know that I was also fully loaded.....ready to scream at any moment....."don't try your sales tactics on me!" But, I contained myself. He offered that I take a test drive it. I did not bother to tell him that I was under doctor's orders not to drive. Why spoil the fun? So, we went on a little drive. And, I had to admit, I liked this vehicle. And, I felt sooooo good driving. As soon as we got back, I decided it would do. "So, what's the name of this?" I asked. "The Escape" he told me. I thought for a moment. Yes, that will do.....it sort of fits my life right now, I reasoned. I'm escaping my former life as an obese person. "Okay, I'll take it," I said whipping out my checkbook. Easiest sale that man ever made. And, I'll bet he wonders what was the key that clinched the deal. Between the time he held out his hand to introduce himself until the time I sat there writing a check, a total of 26 minutes had passed. Lucky guy. As I was leaving the lot, he said "you know, this is the sports model. Souped up!" I glanced back at him....wincing at the mere thought of SOUP (a liquid!). "Yep, it's good. All I need is some red mats and it will be fine," I said as I drove off. In the rear view mirror, I saw him scratching his head. Yep, that's how I operate, Jim.