Tikkabik

So, some of my comrades have pressured me for more Frickin' Van stories, so I figured I'd end the year on that note.

The Frickin' Van continues to occupy space in the driveway, being driven at most once a week, mainly to haul trash to the dump. My initial goal in keeping it after we got the other van on the road mainly had to do with a desire to have two cars to shuttle the kids around in for their various activities, but this has suddenly become less of an issue. After Bob's kung fu school raised his tuition again, for the second or third time this year, we dropped him from the program. So that's two weekly after school activities that he doesn't need to get hauled to and from. Emme's schedule for Girl Scouts changed, as well.

The trips to the dump have turned into nail biters. As I indicated in my last Frickin' Van entry, the thing has a sticky thermostat -- so if you get caught in a line at the dump, the van heats up and acts scary until you start moving it at street speeds again. I'm not sure what the relationship is between the van's relative lack of use and its sticky thermostat is, but I'm sure there's a causal relationship there.

The relative lack of use seems to be accelerating the Frickin' Van's leprosy -- its body rot is increasing in good old fashioned Ford style -- many of the lower edges closest to the pavement now show chunks of rust instead of blue paint. I'm also finding little peels of rust-caked paint starting to form like a nest around the Frickin' Van.

Its time is coming soon, it would seem.