November 24, 1996
Looking in the papers at the car ads is a lot simpler in America. And talking to people on the phone about those cars has been practically effortless. "John, does it strike you as unusual that in the four days we've been in the U.S., we've been able to understand people?" I guess we'll take that for granted after awhile, but when I asked the attendant at the BP gas station where I could get the Trading Times, her response took me off guard. I understood every word of it. When was the last time that had happened?
And we understood the Trading Times too: all the abbreviations, the symbols, the letters. Our number one assignment here has been to find wheels (and all the body parts that attach to them). Where better to start looking than in the Motor City - Detroit. Northwest Airlines routes their Frankfurt-U.S. flights through their Detroit hub, and since that is where my parents live, this was perfect for us. We'd have a warm bed and a shower every day while we hunted for a car. I wonder if, once we buy one, we'll have an urge to sleep in it out on the driveway.
So far we've
seen several cars and called on several more. Nothing comes close to that
VW diesel van we left behind on a reseller's lot (Reimo in Frankfurt). I suppose if nothing turns up here, we could always go back and
reclaim it, ship it home, and..... But John might have founds a better answer. Another
Volkswagen. This one an '83 Jetta listed in the paper as a 'parts car'.
"Listen to this, Janet. 98,000 miles, leather interior, no rust, possible
electrical driveability problem."
"John, I thought you gave up your days under the hood?" We were only going to look. But that look deserved a closer look and once we got her to turn over, we in turn turned over too - $275. She was ours.
I think we got a damn fine little car here. She has a black leather interior and, now that I've washed it down, it looks great. The exterior is almost rust free and after a few hours administering some TLC, all those little things like turn signals, back-up lights, idle, emergency flasher switch, door locks, seat belts, will work just fine. We've already made a scavenger hunt list that we'll try to fill at the junkyard tomorrow. Then, voila! Five days to mobility. "Ok John, we've got wheels now. Where do you want to go?"