⚙️nce upon a free period in a noisy classroom, a group of friends in open collars and loose ties were briskly chatting about the kind of life they hoped to have. The discussion slithered along topics like the first job, first home and eventually plopped on to ‘the first car’. Now that is a tricky little shot to nail if your budget is tight, and even trickier if you are a petrolhead. Moreover, given that there are a thousand options and a million factors to consider, the one you pick says a lot about you and since it’s the first one in your life, it becomes a rather memorable part of it.
“Camaro” ”Porsche” “Audi”… the boys named various cars and brands ranging from hot hatches to luxury exotics. Someone even said they wanted a Pagani; it was really a broad spectrum. I was there too and I distinctly remember saying that I’d rather get a used muscle car from the 70’s than a used Camry from the current decade. Heads nodded in approval as they heard the ambitious words of wisdom. They applauded my guts to go for cool and tough rather than the conventional and safe.
The bell rang. The free period was over. Shortly the next teacher arrived and told us to button up our collars and take out our textbooks. The friends all raised toast, and their ties, to the future and with that the balance of the classroom was restored.
That was then. Eight years later here I am, behind the wheel of … (Drumroll) … the 2008 Honda Accord. The 4 cylinder one, with the automatic transmission. Yep.
I smell disappointment and I respect it because it is justified. The Accord is as far away from being a muscle car as a pencil is from being an eraser. And it is so synonymous to the car I specifically said I didn’t wanna get, that they could be best-friends or arch-rivals for life.
Moral of the story kids - everyone hopes to be Robert Frost, but in the end they take the safe path because reality reminds you who’s boss and why the road not taken is what it is. And on that terrible disappointment it is now time to end …
Nope! Not really.
More on that in part 2.
Peace.