Thank You – #27

Thank You No. 27

Today, I’m thankful for cars (and modern transportation).

It’s amazing that I can travel 300 miles in 5 hours from one side of Pennsylvania to the other.  We are so blessed to have cars which allow us to travel long distances in relatively short periods of time for work and for pleasure.  I can be in Guatemala City in 5 hours via air travel.  And I can visit my folks in Texas in 4-6 hours depending on the number of stops at airports.

Why are you thankful today?

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Ice Breaker – Wrecked

It’s Friday which means it’s time for an ice breaker question here on The Stretched Blog.  As you read below and recall my post from yesterday, you may see a common word used in both posts.  The word WRECKED is bringing new meeting into my life these days as I read through Jeff Goins‘ soon to be released book, WRECKED.  I’ll share a teaser video at the end of today’s post and a review post in the coming days.  In the meantime, it’s time for today’s ice breaker question.

(For those of you who are new around here, each week I ask a question – an ice breaker – designed to help us get to know a little bit about each other.  I answer the question in the post, and you get to answer the question by leaving a comment.)

Question:  Describe a time when you wrecked a car (or bicycle…or something else).

My answer:  If memory serves me correctly, I’ve had two car accidents in my life.  Neither of them were fun, but the first one was an especially memorable crash.  Two weeks before my wedding day, I was traveling into Philadelphia to meet up with my soon-to-be bride (Leanne).  I had just spent the night with my college roommate (and best man) at my new apartment, and I was traveling down a busy stretch of highway known in our area as The Roosevelt Boulevard.  I was driving my mint green Ford Taurus which I had recently purchased in an effort to get out of a lease situation on my previous vehicle.  Even though I purchased the car used, I think it only had 5 or 6 thousand miles on it at the time of the accident.

I noticed that traffic coming the other way was stopped as I approached a hill.  You think I would have slowed down, but I didn’t.  As I came up over the crest of the hill, there was a car parked in the left lane.  I tried to stop, but there wasn’t enough time to slow my car.  I was probably doing 50-60 miles an hour when I plowed into the back of this parked car.  My airbags went off, my hood flew open, my car immediately stopped, and I went into shock.  Through the smell of the airbags and the floating smoke that lingered in my car, I emerged from my smashed up Taurus only to discover that the car I had hit was gone.  Yes, it someone drove away and left the scene of the accident.

The police, ambulance, and tow truck showed up.  There weren’t many cell phones at the time, so I had no way of contacting my fiance to explain why I was late.  Eventually, I showed up at our rendezvous location in the front seat of the tow truck.  It was an interesting ride home and an interesting introduction into the two-week period that led up to our wedding.  My car ended up being fixed despite over $11,000 worth of damage.  I’m still not sure why they didn’t total the car.  It was never the same again.  It was WRECKED!

Now, it’s your turn to answer today’s question.  But before you leave your answer in the comments, check out this video about a new book that I’m very excited to share with The Stretched Community:

Ice Breaker – Cars Of Our Childhood

Happy Friday!

Friday means Ice Breaker here on The Stretched Blog.  Each week, I ask a question that helps to break the ice so to speak.  I answer the question in the post, and you answer the question in the comments.  The weekly Ice Breaker has become a fun way to get to know the Stretched Community.  Feel free to read the other comments and leave comments on the other answers that readers provide.  This week’s Ice Breaker should be fun!

Question:  What car(s) did your parents drive when you were a kid?

My Answer:  I don’t remember all the years of the cars, but I remember a few of the cars.  My folks had a Yellow Chevy Vega and a Brown Chevy Nova when I first came along.  Then they transitioned to a Brown ’72 Chevy Impala.  They kept that car for a long time.  When they finally sold it (or gave it away – I’m not sure), it had over 212,000 miles.  The Impala was replaced by a Diesel Chevy Chevette and a 12 passenger Ford Econoline van.  It’s funny how these cars became integral parts of our family.  I wonder if our kids will have the same memories of the cars that we’ve had.

Okay!  Now, it’s your turn.  Let’s hear your answer in the comments.  Thanks for sharing!

Ice Breaker – My First Car

It’s that time of the week again…time for an ice breaker question!  Since it’s the first ice breaker of the year, I thought I would ask a question about firsts.  For those of you who are new or who forgot, ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak.  I love hearing what other people have to say and how they think.  So for today, I’m excited to throw out another simple ice breaker question.  I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn.  Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy.  Thanks!

Question:  What was (or is) your first car?

My Answer:  Here you go….

My answer will be pretty simple.  My first car was a 1974 Chevy Nova.  It was midnight blue with a white hard top.  It had a straight six cylinder engine in it, and I could stand next to the engine if I lifted the hood.  The Nova had four doors and a JVC stereo that I installed.  The ceiling fabric was falling down, so I used push pins to hold it up.  It had an Oakley sticker in the back window.  The Nova felt like it was floating when I drove down the highway.  I’ll always have fond memories of the Nova.

So there you have it, my answer to the question.  Now it’s your turn….I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say!

Car Shopping

This weekend, Leanne and I decided it was finally time to trade in our old vehicle in exchange for a new one. While I absolutely love the thrill of driving a new vehicle, I could certainly pass on the whole shopping and negotiation experience.