This Labor Day I was planning to go in to school, spend the full day and get my sh...tuff, organized. I had a plan, get lesson plans done, figure out copies, re-do files and clean out those cabinets, so I can find things. Maybe even go looking for some other furniture in the storage room...when no one was around to scold me. Yeah...plan....A...but then on Sunday night, the Jazzman tells me he wants to travel to PA (That's Pennsylvania, for you non-Ohioans) and look at a car. He tells me that it's about a three hour drive (one way) and he will not buy the car on Monday, but if he decides to buy it, will make another trip back the following week, with me, so I can drive the "other" car home.
Now, one might think that six hours in a car to look at a car, and then come home to do it all over again, would not sound like my cup o' tea...However, it sounded SO much better than all day at school, that I immediately found myself figuring out how to make it work. Early morning lesson plans, stay late after school all week, then PA bound I could be! I LOVE to travel with Jazzman. It's not that it's so exciting, but we enjoy looking at the scenery, talking to each other, and occasionally listening to some good classical or jazz music. I like being with him in the car, smelling that tobacco smell (yeah, former smoker, love the smell of fresh tobacco) and just sitting there feeling that all is right with the world. It's probably the only time that I don't get antsy to move and DO something. So, to me, time in the car with the Jazzman is very relaxing. I should probably have him take me out for a spin each evening, so I could relax before bed time...just like a baby in a carseat...but I digress.
Anyway, the car buying thing is new. You see Jazzman has told me for the longest time how much he loves this car. And, I must admit that I love it too. It's comfortable, spunky, has a great classic look, and is a very nice car. Not to mention that he maintains it in tip top shape and it looks like someone detailed it, each and every day. He has told me many times that this is the car he will drive until he dies....which should be for a long time. Lately, however, it's been a car which needed a lot of maintenance, and that is expensive (German car=expensive), so he's decided that he's done pouring money into it, and now that it's really in good shape, it's a good time to get rid of it.
This means he's looking for another car. One that's zippy, dependable, a little less expensive to maintain, but still a really cool car. And he has it narrowed down to a few selections. This is where he spend his leisure time, looking for cars. He's a bonafide motor head! He LOVES cars. He reads Auto Week and can't wait for the next edition...needless to say, this is sort of a hobby, and it has paid off for me, since when I need a car, I put him "on it" and I always get a good deal. Hence the trip to PA, to look at a car. This promised to be just what he wanted, and we arrived to see it looking pretty sharp from it's place in the driveway.
Jazzman got out, spent about half an hour looking around, and then told the poor guy, who'd been pacing and being entertained by yours truly, that he found it to be in poor shape for what the guy wanted for it, and it was a "no go." I'm not sure if the guy was more disappointed than Jazzman, I'd say it was a close race. You see, Jazzman knows cars, and he looked in this car, up and down, underneath, and at each door, hinge, rug, window, sunroof, well you get the picture. While this was going on, I was kvetzing with dude who was selling it, asking about his army son (to whom the car belongs), talking about being a teacher, asking him about his golf game, you know doing all I could to keep him from pacing worriedly and watching Jazzman shake, rattle and roll things.
So, when the answer was "no," it was a sort of deflating moment. Of course it was at this time that Jazzman realized that he needed to use the facilities, and asked if we could do that before he left. Which of course placed me in the kitchen with the lady of the house, doing more schmoozing about their lovely house, and their son, and...well, you get it. Let's just say I was dying to get into the bathroom and get out of there.
We left their house and I programmed the GPS (who I named Rachel, and he calls Ethyl) and we headed home. I was just happy to have had a great scenic drive and great company, Jazzman was really disappointed, and kept saying, "darnit..." over and over. In the end, he didn't get his car, which made the day totally suck for him. I, however got a great drive with the Jazzman, on a beautiful day, and felt totally fulfilled. Now that I've written this, I'm not sure if this points out how we co-exist peacefully, or further confuses everyone about why we do...but trust me, it works...for whatever reason.
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