Today, I have done the very best that I could to simply not think any deep thoughts whatsoever.  That is usually a challenge for me.  But today, when we only just dodged the 100 degree mark for days upon days in a row, it wasn’t a huge challenge.

Besides, I had to deal with the effects of the heat on my life:  I had to start car shopping.

Yes, the time has come to replace our beloved 14 year old Mazda Protege.  The heat, she done done it in, in the language of Liza Doolittle.  That and too any trips cross town to Wesley Seminary.

The little red Mazda has served us well and deserves it’s rest:  it drove me back and forth to Charlottesville while I sang at the Ashlawn Festival; it drove me faithfully back and forth to Baltimore while I pursued my studies at the Peabody Institute;  it has kept us fed and clothed, and safely delivered me home from many a rehearsal on many a late night.  Like all things do, it now must transition to whatever lies beyond a car’s mortal incarnation.

We now enter a time of adventure, because we have decided to acquire — dare I say it, a brand new car.  The last time we bought a car, in retrospect, was a time of great change and transportation:  new jobs, a new house, new psychological stability, all followed in the wake of the acquisition of a simple mode of transportation.

So, now becomes the time of making lists, researching, trying to remember how I felt about every rental car I ever drove, negotiating, and choosing (not my strong suit).   Let’s see how long I have to depend on Zipcar before we can make this decision..and just what follows in it’s wake this time!