Thursday's Thought!
Posted by Maria McClure from the Leaf Chronicle (Custom Content Editor at The Leaf-Chronicle). Check out her blog here!
This was an amazing shout out to Jenkins and Wynne and one of our best Salespeople, Lisa Dotson! Thanks Maria!
The 1970s show “Hee Haw” had a skit where four people sat around and sang about their miseries. The stories were different each time, while the chorus remained the same:“Gloom, despair and agony on me! Deep dark depression, excessive misery! If it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all! Gloom, despair and agony on me!”
When I was a kid I knew every word of the chorus, and as an adult I have felt like I was living it at times. The day before Christmas Eve my car died. After speaking to the mechanic today, it died a slow an agonizing death brought on by no one but me. Yes, it's my fault. I let maintenance lapse and now my Tribute needs a new engine. I wrote about my dilemma in the editor’s note of LivingWell where I thanked the police officer who, along with several other people, pushed my dead car off Riverside Drive.
That day I got a phone call from an old friend, Lisa, who works for Jenkins and Wynne.“Girl you need a new car,” Lisa said. All kinds of things raced through my head, including the state of the economy, not to mention my credit. I did not want to spend more than $20,000 on a new car, nor did I have any spare cash for a down payment. “That’s impossible,” I said. “Don’t worry,” Lisa said. “You just have to believe.” After we ended the call, I shrugged off the conversation and did not think much of it until she called me back.
“What color Focus do you want,” she asked.“Color? Focus?” I replied. So off to Jenkins and Wynne I went and picked out a snow- and ice-covered black 2010 Ford Focus. Still in a state of disbelief, while mourning my Zoom-Zoom I did not bother sitting in the car or test driving it. The Focus has some really cool interactive features including a system that allows you to sync your cell phone with the car for hands-free dialing and talking. There’s also a feature called “Sync My Ride,” which -- once I figure it out -- will give me updated traffic reports and remind me when maintenance is due (a perfect feature for an absent-minded driver like myself).
On pick up day I met Lisa back at the dealership where she introduced me around. Angelia in finance was great, and Steve, a salesman, helped me sync my iPhone with the Focus. “So how do you like the car,” Steve asked. “It handles pretty good.”“I haven’t driven it yet,” I replied. “But I’m sure it’ll be fine.”Yes that's right, I bought a car without testing it out. A plus for me is that there is a 48-hour love it or leave it clause.
I finally did drive it and, yes, I love it. Not only is this little car very user-friendly, it gets amazing gas mileage. Little did I know that Fords top the market right now in gas mileage. So Lisa was right, sometimes you just have to believe. My plan for 2010 was to be car payment-free -- that is not to be.
Honestly, I have no one to blame but myself. So if you have been neglecting the maintenance of your car because you’re too busy with life, try to imagine life without your car.
Maria Rice McClure is still in shock over the events of the past two weeks and her husband is mad at her, while Amy Ritchart is excited that Maria has a new car. E-mail them at amyandmaria@gmail.com, find them on Facebook by searching pages for amy-maria — and on Twitter @amyandmaria.
This was an amazing shout out to Jenkins and Wynne and one of our best Salespeople, Lisa Dotson! Thanks Maria!
The 1970s show “Hee Haw” had a skit where four people sat around and sang about their miseries. The stories were different each time, while the chorus remained the same:“Gloom, despair and agony on me! Deep dark depression, excessive misery! If it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all! Gloom, despair and agony on me!”
When I was a kid I knew every word of the chorus, and as an adult I have felt like I was living it at times. The day before Christmas Eve my car died. After speaking to the mechanic today, it died a slow an agonizing death brought on by no one but me. Yes, it's my fault. I let maintenance lapse and now my Tribute needs a new engine. I wrote about my dilemma in the editor’s note of LivingWell where I thanked the police officer who, along with several other people, pushed my dead car off Riverside Drive.
That day I got a phone call from an old friend, Lisa, who works for Jenkins and Wynne.“Girl you need a new car,” Lisa said. All kinds of things raced through my head, including the state of the economy, not to mention my credit. I did not want to spend more than $20,000 on a new car, nor did I have any spare cash for a down payment. “That’s impossible,” I said. “Don’t worry,” Lisa said. “You just have to believe.” After we ended the call, I shrugged off the conversation and did not think much of it until she called me back.
“What color Focus do you want,” she asked.“Color? Focus?” I replied. So off to Jenkins and Wynne I went and picked out a snow- and ice-covered black 2010 Ford Focus. Still in a state of disbelief, while mourning my Zoom-Zoom I did not bother sitting in the car or test driving it. The Focus has some really cool interactive features including a system that allows you to sync your cell phone with the car for hands-free dialing and talking. There’s also a feature called “Sync My Ride,” which -- once I figure it out -- will give me updated traffic reports and remind me when maintenance is due (a perfect feature for an absent-minded driver like myself).
On pick up day I met Lisa back at the dealership where she introduced me around. Angelia in finance was great, and Steve, a salesman, helped me sync my iPhone with the Focus. “So how do you like the car,” Steve asked. “It handles pretty good.”“I haven’t driven it yet,” I replied. “But I’m sure it’ll be fine.”Yes that's right, I bought a car without testing it out. A plus for me is that there is a 48-hour love it or leave it clause.
I finally did drive it and, yes, I love it. Not only is this little car very user-friendly, it gets amazing gas mileage. Little did I know that Fords top the market right now in gas mileage. So Lisa was right, sometimes you just have to believe. My plan for 2010 was to be car payment-free -- that is not to be.
Honestly, I have no one to blame but myself. So if you have been neglecting the maintenance of your car because you’re too busy with life, try to imagine life without your car.
Maria Rice McClure is still in shock over the events of the past two weeks and her husband is mad at her, while Amy Ritchart is excited that Maria has a new car. E-mail them at amyandmaria@gmail.com, find them on Facebook by searching pages for amy-maria — and on Twitter @amyandmaria.
Comments