Another vehicle needed

The 217,000-mile Jeep is gone. The other person's insurance company bought it a couple of weeks ago. The adjuster said it would be towed to Kentucky and sold at an auction to people who would strip it for parts.

The Ross family has not yet had the memorial service for the Jeep, probably because my wife thinks it’s a really dumb idea. We have one key left from the Jeep that other driver’s insurance company did not want. So my kids and I probably will bury it, along with its insurance card, sometime soon.

We're a one-car family. Because we're likely to be out at any hour and because we don't have close family close by, we need a second car. We have thought about buying something old, high-mileage and cheap, or we could go in debt for a few years and buy a new vehicle. If we go that route, it will probably be a van.

It has to have cupholders (at least 82, as it will normally carry five people), and it must have electrical outlets all over the place. Plus at least two heating/AC vents for every person. And seats that can fold down so I can haul a grand piano and a 20-foot extension ladder at the same time. Seats should be cloth, not vinyl or leather, and they must resist stains for when a large milkshake topples into one.

(I remember my first car. To keep it new inside, I attached a sign to the passenger side sun visor. It said, “No smoking eating drinking. Enjoy yourself.” Usually, people asked two questions within five minutes. Why didn’t I allow eating in my car, and how did I manage to keep it looking so good on the inside. Many of them never made the connection.).

I really don't like buying vehicles. I feel as vulnerable as people do when they're talking with reporters or editors. Seriously. It's a situation where you feel the other person has the advantage and there's no way you can get it.

But buy I must.

After that, it's on to 200,000 miles again.

I must admit that I feel a little sad whenever I see another Jeep Cherokee on the road. But I also think that losing the Jeep may have been a blessing. You never know when a vehicle will have a catastrophic mechanical failure. I kept the Jeep off I-64 whenever possible for that very reason. Re-arranging the household budget to accommodate a new car has shown me where we have had a little fat that needs to go toward home repairs (a topic for another day), another vehicle or for savings.

But even with all that, I still miss that Jeep.