As the new year began
I buckled down to find
A car - for I had finally
Made up my mind.
I had oft spoken of it,
Even researched online.
But passive looking was done;
I would no longer whine.
I wanted something reliable,
And a heater to combat the frost;
Something newer, with good gas mileage,
And hopefully not too high a cost.
I had worried that it
was too soon
To undertake all the costs of a vehicle;
But such a great need had arisen
That I knew it’d be worth every nickel.
And so, on a bright Thursday morn
I responded to ads by phone;
I made plans to see several cars,
But I would not be going alone!
I had sought wisdom from parents,
From siblings, teachers, chums.
But my companion for the journey
Would be my man,
who always comes
When I need him.
Mitch arrived, faithful and true
And after a brief tête á tête
We went to the bank, I got the cash
And we were on our way.
The first person we met was a gent
Whom upon hearing his voice on the phone
I concluded was an elderly Mexican man;
He was actually Jamaican (I was wrong).
The car was alright, though a bit worn,
So we wanted to see the next one.
We got in the car to head downtown,
But what happened next wasn’t fun.
I had parked ‘neath a slatted wood roof
Right next to the column that upheld it.
As I backed out, I forgot it was there
And with a smash, I quite nearly felled it.
But the pillar would persist,
It was my blinker that was broken.
It had popped out of the socket;
Devastated, I began mopin’.
Could I do nothing
right?
What a great driver I
am.
Should I even be
getting a car?
Then in came my man.
He comforted me,
Then scraped up his hand
Jerry-rigging the light
With a handy hair band.
Onward we went to Staples
To get some nifty duct tape.
We fixed it up, sighed in relief,
Went over to Subway, and ate.
(I was getting a little stressed.
Mitch strongly suggested I take a break)
After that, I was feeling much better
So we went on to the next site
We were to meet with a man at Starbucks
My profile: middle-aged and white.
We ended up buying some bevs there
And chatting with the cashier,
Who was Christian, Ramonian, owned a Toyota Corolla -
It was a sign we had nothing to fear!
As we walked out to meet the chap
Mitch had to hold a laugh back.
For once again, my guess was wrong
Alas, this man too was black.
The car was cheaper, but needed more work
And the whole exchange had a gangsta feel;
In the end, we said we’d call him back,
For this last car
might be a better deal.
We got an opportunity to meet a woman
Who lived nearby in Hillcrest.
I was certainly intrigued by her advert
But did not know this one would be best.
After killing some time at Gamestop
We drove to the meeting place.
By then it was so dark
It was hard to see someone’s face.
Now, I will say I got this one right,
For I was conservative in my guess.
I only said she sounded “foreign” -
Is Russian ‘foreign’? Why, yes.
She was such a really sweet woman,
And a Navy wife to boot.
The whole situation felt so right;
All other options seemed moot.
Though it was dark, we looked at the car
Asked questions, and test drove it too.
The car was great, the lady was great;
We knew what we would do.
We went back to the car to consult
With Mr. G on the phone;
I got out the dough and readied myself
To acquire a car of my own.
I handed over three thousand in cash,
But this woman was no money hog.
She handed me back a one hundred
For me to get the car smogged.
So we settled to signing the papers,
Carefully checking for error;
She did all with such open honesty -
She could really not have been fairer.
The car was finally mine;
I asked for the vehicle’s name.
She called it “Baby”, said she’d loved it,
And I said that I’d do the same.
We discovered through conversation,
That she is Christian too;
She even had the car blessed.
God, seriously, thank You! X)
For God’s hand was in every juncture,
Every detail of the entire day.
He cared enough to find me a car
And was patient to show me the way.
Thank You, God, for my new car named Baby!
And thank you, Mitch, for being my partner in the journey.
I will care for Baby well, so that she will work for many
years to come.
Here's my Baby! She's a 2001 Toyota Corolla.
Thank you to Sarina at Relay Memories Photography for snapping me a few shots.
https://www.facebook.com/RelayMemoriesPhotography?ref=ts&fref=ts
