Volkswagen Passat 2001

This is a story about my friend Laura H.'s LEAST favorite car (she couldn't think of a favorite car). Here's how she describes it:

"The year was 2000, and I finally felt like it was time to get a 'grownup, fancy, high class' car. You know...electric windows, CD player, heated seats. I decided on the Passat.

My favorite color is green and I always wanted a green car. The dealership was having trouble finding a car in green, so I thought to put it off a couple of months until they got one in.

I talked to my husband & thought it was settled. I was wrong.

I was over a friend's house with a group of friends, and my husband calls me up, all excited, that he bought a car for me and it was BLUE! I didn't want a blue car, I wanted a green car, and it took me months to finally forgive him.

[*side note from Eva: I was with Laura that day and yes, I can attest that she was FURIOUS. That set us all off and we started talking about the things that husbands do that get us really mad. But I digress. Ok, now back to Laura's story]:

At least twice a year, the 'Check Engine' light would go on and it would cost at least $500 to fix whatever was broken at the time. One time, the handle to the glove compartment fell off; that cost $300 to fix because they couldn't just replace the handle... or the door. They had to replace the whole entire compartment.

Something new came up: whenever it rained, sometimes I would find a nice big puddle on the driver's floor. I had the whole windshield replaced, TWICE, but that didn't solve the problem. I finally figured out that as long as I parked FACING the garage (and not facing AWAY from the garage) there would be no puddles.

I finally decided it was time for a new car. I got myself a hybrid Toyota Prius (color is green). So far, I'm very happy with it; the only thing I miss from the Passat are the heated seats. I'll only trade this car if Toyota comes out with a model with heated seats."

Submitted by Laura H. as told to Eva Abreu

Vanessa's Datsun B210

Here's a story from Vanessa... Got a favorite car story? Email to me and I'll post it!

Clipart by Lee Hansen, www.leehansen.com

"My first car was a 1975 Datsun B210. This is the car that later evolved into the Nissan Sentra.

When I graduated high school in 1982 my grandfather wanted to buy me a new '82 Sentra for my graduation present. But my dad and grandmother vetoed the idea.

So, I worked and saved what I could. (I was supporting my mother and sister at this time.) When I told my grandfather that I was planning to buy a '71 toyota we made an agreement.

No, it wasn't about toyota versus datsun; it was about the fact that the car I had in my sights was just short of the scrap heap. He told me to "do a little better" and that he'd help out only if I "never let dad and grandma know".

Meanwhile as I continued to save, my uncle found this cute little datsun and negotiated a great price. (Grandpa only ended up kicking in my first year's insurance costs.)

The funny part was that when my uncle took me to get the car, it turned out to be a stick shift. And I had only driven (tried to drive) a manual transmission once.

My uncle and the seller made a deal: if I could get it home, I'd keep it. If not, he would refund my money and take it back.

That day, what should have been a 10 minute trip took me almost an hour but I got "Bay Bay" home.

I kept that car for 5 years and over 100,000 miles - including halfway across the country and back - twice!

To this day she's still my favorite of all the cars I've had since.

My uncle bought her from me, when she was closing in on 300,000 miles and I finally gave in and bought a new car.

A 1983 Nissan Sentra."

Vanessa
http://www.vanessasdesk.com

My Car

I'm looking for stories about your favorite car.

We are such an automobile-centric society and rely so heavily on this mass of steel on four wheels. But for many car owners, it's more than just a hunk of junk... it's their baby, their alter-ego, their time-travel vehicle, their Batmobile, their L-O-V-E machine.

There are untold stories and memories locked away in countless of cars across the country. So now is your chance to tell your story.

Photo credit: Arthur Martins Franco Bisneto

For me, a car is just a means to get from point A to point B.

But I do have fond memories of my very first car, a 1977 Plymouth Fury III, that was handed down to me from my dad during my senior year in high school. I thought I was just SO cool driving this big ol' yellow four door tank; yes, it was somewhat uncool in the fact that it used to belong to my father... but the coolness factor was that I could fit in about 12 kids across the big black vinyl bench seats if we all squeezed in and sat on each other's lap. Yeah, Eva was cool ; )

Lots more stories to tell, but in the meantime, what's the story behind your fav car?

Add your story in Comments or you can Contact Me so I can interview you, and I'll post your story here and include it in my upcoming book too.

In the meantime, happy travelin'!

Helping you Sort Things Out, one step at a time!

Regards,
Eva

Follow me on Twitter!

Fat Cat: can i haz chezburga...sub sandwich?

When you order a cheeseburger and side of fries, you expect to get...well, a cheeseburger and a side of french fries, right?

A friend ordered this all-American well-known meal at a local pizza place in New Jersey, and what he got instead, was what we call a submarine sandwich here in NJ, with the fries INSIDE the sandwich, plus all the trimmings.

Not what he expected.

This a photo of the sandwich after he decided to taste it since he couldn't return it:

What's the story behind the sandwich? Seems like this pizza place just introduced a new line of Fat Subs. This one is called the Fat Cat, with 2 cheeseburgers, French Fries, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, Ketchup and Mayo on a submarine roll. They also have on the menu a Fat Sam, Fat Darryl, Fat B****ard, and Fat B**ch which is made with Cheese Steaks, Chicken Fingers, Mozzarella Sticks, French Fries, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, Mayo and Ketchup all crammed on a submarine roll (can you tell this place is near Rutgers University?)

I asked the owner if he came up with the ideas for these sub sandwiches and he said he saw it at another restaurant. Gotta give him credit for trying to come up with something new and different, rather than just plain ol' pizza.

Do you have a story to add about something new and different in your life?
...or, something old and sentimental that you've kept forever? Send in your stories to eva@sort-things-out.com

Thanks for sharing!

P.S. If you've read this far, and can identify the name and town of this pizza place, the first person to email me with the correct information will receive $5 (almost enough to pay for one Fat Cat sub).

the violin

Thank you for sending in your stories to include in my upcoming book: Our Stories, Our Stuff: The Special Meaning Behind the Things We Keep.

Here's a story shared by a member on the network group that I moderate on Ryze:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"... I am having a hard time getting rid of...


...A violin that my father got me for my 10th birthday. (over 30 years ago). I was in a school at the time that gave free music lessons. My father had to borrow money to get the violin because he knew I wanted one and the school only gave lessons to those who had their own instruments. I only took lessons for 3 weeks before I transferred to a school that didnt offer music lessons and we couldnt afford lessons on our own. Even when we could afford lessons eventually I never went back to taking lessons because as I got older I got interested in other things. But the fact that my dad went out of his way (and incurred debt at a time we couldnt really afford it) to buy me this special gift still means the world to me today. I guess I kept it thinking someday my children would want to take lessons or someday I would have time for lessons myself again. So far that hasnt happened, but maybe my grandchildren could use it someday? Either way, I just cannot part with it and I don't think I ever will!"

Submitted by Angie Cyr
http://www.CoachChica.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for sharing your story Angie!

If you have a story about an item in your life that you're holding on to, feel free to email me: stories@sort-things-out.com and we'll post it here.

Regards,
Eva Abreu