Rock Bottom

Bear with me if you've heard this already.

Today, I was waiting for Tim in my car outside of Whiskey's, listening to music, hoping he'd hurry up so we weren't late to kickball (incidentally we were on time and we won, playing great team defense and producing enough runs to give us even more confidence when fielding). As I was sitting there, a man approached my window. He had a scruffy beard, his hair was unkempt, his eyes bloodshot, he looked sort of unhealthy. I would predict that this man did not have a home. When he asked me if I had any change for him, this also pointed towards homelessness in my brain. I shook my head. He started to walk away and said, "Nice wheels!"

Pause for a second.

It sounds like a compliment, doesn't it? Take a closer look.

I drive a 1999 "Burnt-Orange" Pontiac Sunfire with fake plastic hub caps, a suicide knob, a broken sun roof, and a bunch of bumper stickers. It hasn't been washed in over 6 months. You didn't hear this gentleman's tone of voice. He was making fun of my car. A homeless man made fun of my car. This happened today. He doesn't have a home, and he was asking me for change, and he made fun of my car.

I should probably think about getting a new car. And you know what, when I do, I am going to find this man, and give him the Sunfire. Unfortunately a new car is not in the books for several years... I'm thinking 2012 or when it dies, whichever comes first (probably the latter).

You know what? I like my car. It works just fine, and even if that homeless guy wants to make fun of it, I will still enjoy driving it.

Who am I kidding? It's kind of embarrassing. But what is a car other than a means to get from A to B? It's a status symbol. And what's my status currently? Pretty low, and I'm okay with that.

Thank you, random homeless dude, for legitimizing all of my friends' (and friends' parents') insults of my car over the years. Keep up the good work.

Until next time.