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| photosource:medium.com Keep it moving. Movement is the illusion of progress. |
Sisyphus knows all about futility.
He worked so hard all day long only to find that he had lost all his ground overnight.
His curse was the result of divine decree by Zeus, for his transgressions in life. Mine is a self imposed futility. Perhaps for my transgressions of hubris?
I have lately got to thinking, "when did I start buying cars that needed work? " I used to buy what I called "good" cars. Cars that ran well and looked good, at least better than the cars that I was trading up from!
When I was younger I didn't have much money to spend on cars and whatever extra money I did have, I preferred to spend on also having a motorcycle.
The bikes were usually used, but they were in pretty good shape, except for my first Harley. It was a previously chopped Sportster that I knew was trouble going in. However I was confident that I could fix it.
Thinking back, I have never bought what I ( the operative word is "I"!) consider to be a junker. Something that was wrecked, didn't run, and had a shredded interior. Well, maybe just one out of three, of those areas! I suppose that others, especially my Wife, might have had other opinions.
The idea was always to buy better and better cars.
After all, I was getting older and somewhat better off financially.
This progression of ownership finally led to the purchase of several almost new, and even a couple of brand new vehicles.
Then "something" happened.
For some reason I began to reverse course. I stopped looking at new cars for satisfaction and fulfillment. Instead, I began to reference a mythical "Golden Age" sometime in my youth, where I found joy in the older cars that were the only things that I could afford to buy.
Was this the onset of the stereotypical middle age crisis?
I think that it was partly because I reached a point where I couldn't afford to buy the better new car that I aspired to.
It's also when I realized that they were no longer building the kind of cars that I really liked.
Oh, I still bought the new cars that I needed for the family. An '84 Cougar to replace my beloved '77 Coupe de Ville. Our first minivan, a '90 Dodge Caravan. A '90 Honda Civic SI coupe. (Actually the Honda was a little something to satisfy my enthusiast cravings.)
I bought some late model used cars because these models were too expensive for me to buy new. My '94 Seville STS and '97 Chrysler Town and Country fell into that category.
It was while driving my Honda Civic that I again began to yearn for some good old American Iron.
This led to the purchase of my '71 Riviera. This car was in nice shape. It a had recent paint job and the interior was immaculate. It was a really nice car that I protectively kept in the garage. It ran well and only needed a few repairs during my ownership.
I should have been satisfied, but I got the great idea that I would buy an example of each of the three generations of early Rivieras; A '63-65, a 66-69, and would keep my '71.
This started me down a rabbit hole.
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| photo source: medium .com Obviously Alice wasn't first or last! Move over Alice I'm coming through! |
Over the years I've bought vehicles that I have been satisfied with, but not fulfilled by.
My F150 has been very satisfying to me. Besides it's utility, I like the way it looks and drives. I've taken it all over the Western United States and have enjoyed the experiences. Does it satisfy my enthusiast soul? No.
Those two minivans were great for family trips and we went all over the West Coast in them. Did I enjoy the experience? Yes I did. Did it satisfy my enthusiast soul? Of course not, they were minivans!
Can I find something, anything, preferably a later model, to satisfy my enthusiast soul?
For some reason it just seems to get more difficult. I find myself in kind of a weird place.
Are there new cars that I would like to own? Yes there are. First, is a new Mustang GT convertible. Second, would be a Lincoln Aviator. Those commercials with Mathew McConaughey have had their desired effect. I'm keeping my eyes open for when values on these latest models drop down to my level.
This regression is marching hand in hand with a subject that I'm raising in another post. My Wife's attitude to my old cars. As my taste in old cars gets worse will I some day encounter some real resistance from her on their purchase?
Maybe I should try to discern what that "something" that happened to me actually was.
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