Driving Miss Cherry

Back in March, Cherry watched her baby aka her Sunfire get towed away. A man in a truck rear ended her, consequently, totaling her car. Unfortunately for Cherry, that day she was driving without insurance on her vehicle. This accident caused a huge bump in the road for our wonderful friend. Not only did she not have a car or a way to work, her license was suspended until September, and it would be a long time before she saw a dime of insurance money from the man who totaled her car.

For months Cherry had made plans to get a new car. She discussed going to a car auction with her boss at the beach (who is actually more like her father than a boss), and she checked Craig's List religiously (Cherry really is the master of Craig's List...I swear she is always on there looking to buy or sell something!). It wasn't until last Monday that Miss Cherry had anything to show for all her looking and researching. Her insurance check had finally arrived roughly two weeks before, and she was about to purchase the biggest bang for her buck: a grayish blue '97 Spyder Eclipse. I mean sure it sounds old right? Let me just tell you that this car only has 75,000 miles on it which is pretty good if you ask me. I mean I really don't know anything about cars, but I know that 75,000 miles is pretty low for a car that has been vrooming since 1997. That was thirteen years ago! Can you believe that?! Shoot time sure does fly...but anyway back to Cherry and her Spyder...

Rhett (Cherry's ex-boyfriend, they are still on good terms), Cherry, and I drove to look at the Spyder last Monday. We had to drive over an hour and twenty minutes to reach Greencastle in order to look at the car. I studied most of the way there and part of the way back since I had an exam the next day (which I got a 99% on I might add = ) ). When we arrived at the local Walmart, the three of us started checking out the car. It was beautiful! There is some body damage on the passenger's side, and the two back tires need to be changed before winter. The convertible doesn't have AC, but the top goes down manually since the motor to operate the top needs a new belt. Overall the car was kept in decent shape and with some money put into it, the car will make a sweet, sweet ride. Since we didn't have cash, we were unable to take the car until the check went through. Disappointed but still excited for later in the week, the three of us drove back to West Lafayette empty handed, but with the promise that the seller would meet us in Crawfordsville (half way point).

Now as you may have read in the 'Road Trip! Road Trip! Road Trip!' blog entry, Cherry, Elizabeth, Jo, and I all took an impromptu trip to Chicago, and we left Thursday night. Well right after Cherry left work Thursday, Rhett;Cherry; and I made the long drive down to Greencastle in order to retrieve her car since the seller who promised to meet us in Crawfordsville discovered everyone was "busy" (I'm still bitter about this if you can't tell...). The seller instructed us to come to their house in order to pick up the car; however, the seller completely failed to mention that they lived in literally the middle of no where. I mean I grew up in Green County, so I know what the middle of no where is, and even I was surprised by how out in the middle of no where this house was. With that said, Cherry who had been in a depressive funk the night before was all smiley and giggly once we got the car. Since the car didn't have plate yet, Rhett drove the Spyder back to West Lafayette while I drove Rhett's Mustang. Cherry and I thought the man was going to have a heart attack since someone else was driving his baby.

Now we fast forward to Saturday--the day we returned from Chicago and put plates on Cherry's car. Neither Cherry nor I knew where/how to get to the BMV in Lafayette, so again we were forced to use Cherry's confusing GPS on her IPhone. Jo let us borrow her car and off we went. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided it would be hilarious if it started completely pouring down rain while Cherry and I struggled to find our way to license branch. An hour, four wrong turns, and two soaked outfits later, Cherry and I returned successfully with her new plates. When we went to her car with a flat head screw driver and the new plates, we discovered an unfortunate occurrence. Cherry's back left rim was almost touching the ground it was so low on air. The seller had mentioned that the car needed two back tires, but I suppose we were unaware that they needed to be replaced within the week.

Worried about how we were going to fix everything before we needed to leave for Green County to get Cherry to work on time at the beach, Cherry called her boss. Daddy Warbucks, Cherry's boss, told us to purchase Fix-A-Flat. Cherry and I walked to the nearest gas station located on the corner of Stadium and Northwestern (unfortunately, it's a BP gas station = / ). Let me just tell you something: Fix-A-Flat ROCKS! I'm a total and complete supporter of this product. Not only does it fill up your tire for a compact car completely, but also releases a sealant. Immediately after filling your tire with air, drive it two to four miles in order to allow the sealant to cover the inside edges of the tire completely hopefully stopping the leak. This Fix-A-Flat stuff has saved this back tire for now --at least until winter.

We left for Green County around 3:30 Lafayette time, and so the adventures of driving Miss Cherry officially began. Our first goal? Figuring out exactly how to change the radio station was our first task. The seller ranted and raved about how wonderful the stereo and sound system were in the car. Our discover? We have for sure seen better, and we would for sure NOT classify it as wonderful. I mean we couldn't even figure out how to change the radio station or even work the CD player. It doesn't take a genius to figure out those things, and together we make a pretty fairly intelligent pair. Seriously, it's the dumbest and most confusing radio/CD player set up ever. I mean come on! It doesn't even have a seek button to traverse through the different radio stations! I don't think Cherry and I could have had worse luck. We pressed every button and every combination of the buttons yet still, NOTHING! Yet, for some reason, though Cherry and I could not figure it out ourselves, Rhett, being a car crazy male like he is, was immediately able to figure out how to operate each! Dumbfounded and slightly annoyed, Cherry politely thanked Rhett for his insight into the workings of her new, mysterious car.

When Cherry and I arrived at the beach, Daddy Warbucks and Joe were sitting at the gate taking five dollars a person as an entry fee to the popular summer hang out. I went inside the cafe in order to finish some engineering homework while Daddy Warbucks and Joe checked out Cherry's new ride. They all immediately started detailing the Spyder and giving Cherry advice on how to fix the little odds and ends that are wrong with the vehicle.

"Now Sunshine," explains Joe with his classic Chicago accent. 'Sunshine' is what Joe calls Cherry. Joe has a house on the lake and spends all of his summer weekends on the beach with Daddy Warbucks. "You see that side button on the gear shift? That there is the over drive. It's sort of like a fourth gear. It'll drop your rpms by about half if you use it when you are going about 45mph over the speed limit."

When Cherry got off work, the two of us went to Joe's lake side house. Joe began oiling the hinges on the convertible top and doors. He taught us how to check the pressure in the tires, check the oil (both motor and transmission), and how to check the antifreeze. Since both Cherry and I aren't exactly geniuses when it comes to cars, Joe's lessons were really helpful. I think it's important for everyone to have at least a simple basic knowledge on how to care for your car when it comes to things like checking the oil and changing a flat. It will help extend the life of your vehicle as well as get you out of some sticky situations. No one likes to be that person stuck on the side of the road because they have no idea how to change a flat. Don't let that person be you!

From there I drove Cherry and I to a friend's house for an extremely lame get together. Both of us were exhausted, so we left fairly early. I believe it's safe to say that I have driven Cherry's car more than she has. Until September 4th rolls around I'm sure I'll be driving it a lot more. I've driven Cherry to and from work both in West Lafayette and Green County. Occasionally it's a pain and physically exhausting to get up at 7:45am to get her to work by 8am, but I would never not do it. Cherry is my best friend and will always be my best friend. I'd take a bullet for that girl so waking up to drive a few miles is really nbd, no big deal! Every mile I drive her is an adventure for both of us. We are constantly talking and singing way too loud (well...at least I'm always singing WAY too loud lol ) to the radio or cd all the while continually getting to know one another as our friendship continually grows down the winding roads. There is still a lot of road left for Cherry to travel in her life, and I'll be there for her whether the road is full of pot holes or freshly paved. Most of the time, I'll be in the passenger or back seat, but for now I'll be driving Miss Cherry and enjoying our time together as always.

All My Love,
Koya = )

Daddy Warbucks -- Annie
Joe Boyd -- Damn Yankees