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} ALL Road Trips & Working posts HERE }
Suppose it is time to stop delaying the inevitable. Sometimes, no matter how much we employ the power of positive thinking or how hard we work towards our goals-dreams, bad things just happen.
Some may realize I should be in the midst of my March 2017 road trip & in the Dallas-Fort Worth TX area today, but I haven’t posted anything about the road since publishing the rough itinerary in the 03/05/2017 “Road Trips & Working” entry via THIS LINK HERE. That’s because I never left for that journey. My 03/07/2017 follow-up with the PCP (cough, ear infection) revealed both weren’t completely healed. That led to the need to see specialists, which led to what I’ll simply term Medicaid Crap. I really don’t understand how people can be OK with being on Medicaid, but that is another reflection & story for another time. Combine the frustrating health issues needed to be seen by specialists “yesterday” but not approved with some unexpected finance issues, & it quickly became clear the 2017 road trips are not going to happen.
After MUCH thought & internal debate, I’ve decided to sell my beloved 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis LS. It is repaired; the bucking was caused by the #7 ignition coil, which was replaced. A new idler pulley was also installed. Make no mistake: this AWESOME car is absolutely 100% ROAD TRIP ready, with 169K miles & counting, fuel-efficient V8 engine, side window deflectors just recently installed, AM-FM CD stereo, leather seats, etc. I’m asking $3,000 or best offer. The most-recent pic is from the most-recent road trip, while I put together the collage soon after I bought the car October 2016. The video on OC,SH’s YouTube channel (via THIS LINK HERE) is also from late 2016; when the weather warms up again, I hope to get it washed & take more pics & videos.
So, why this sudden swerve? Well, since I will not be able to road trip, no sense having a newer, more expensive vehicle. Insurance is more costly & I find myself driving it more than I have in a while (i.e. higher gas costs). Plus, I’m not keen on having a vehicle deemed as needing emissions testing when other newer vehicles & homes are not tested. Also, selling the MGM will free up cash I could then use to place ads for Old Cars, Strong Hearts so people will more-often see what I pour my heart’n’soul into crafting.
But, won’t I ever road trip again? Perhaps, but certainly not in the foreseeable future! Not going “home” (road tripping) will free up time for me to focus on OC,SH & other projects. I have ~25 weeks of photos cued & ready to feature, so OC,SH has plenty of life & much planning to keep me busy. Of course, I was really looking forward to the road trips I’d planned in 2017 … to meet some of you for the 1st time & see family’n’friends … & to make new road trip memories, perhaps better than those I made during my annual road trips, 2002-2011. Those journeys remind me of several people no longer living who I stayed with then, who I would’ve stayed with again now. Life changes & we move on, but I sometimes miss people who were once huge parts of my life.
What will I drive for now? The 1979 Caprice Classic sedan, of course! Perhaps not ideal for a few reasons, but going “back to the future” driving that car daily again will cut my insurance & gas costs. I will drive it until it dies or its maker debuts the all-new front-wheel-drive Caprice. When I’m able, I will sell the CC as planned & get something else, 1975-1995, to drive daily … & become OC,SH’s newest bonafide flagship vehicle.