What is a monkeybox?

When I was a little girl, we had a pet monkey named Amanda. My Dad worked in the produce business, so each night he brought home that days culls in a big box - spotty cucumbers, pithy apples, limp celery, moldy oranges and the like. We called it a monkeybox. It was really just trash, but my Mom would take each piece of fruit and trim it, pare it and cut it up to make a beautiful fruit platter for Amanda. Even though it was deemed trash by one, it still had life left in it and was good for the purpose we needed it. That's how I live my life - thrifting, yard saling, looking for another's trash to be my treasure.

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Good Bye Old Friend - Hello Gorgeous

It's been a long week.  The insurance company decided that our car was a total loss.  Which came to a complete and total shock to all of us.  In actuality, only about the front nine inches had damage, but due to parts, labor and the age of the car the totaled it.  We were devastated to say the very least.  We had the car for eight years and that is a nice long time for a car to serve us well.  But, we weren't done with it.  It only had 60,000 miles on it and we had kept it in pristine condition.   We knew the time was coming for a newer car, but we were trying to budget it in down the line.  Plus the VUE would go to The Bean.  So, when they announced it wasn't going to be ours - were were crushed.  I know it's silly to be so attached to a car.  But, we loved that silly thing - we were so happy with it and so very proud of it.  We bought it brand new off the lot with 22 miles on it.  The Bean really only has only memories of the VUE - the drive in, trips, junking, our adventures, etc.  He was really, really sad.  I know he's practically a grown up, but he's so sensitive and can get really emotional.  His dad and I can be big weepy dopes, so what could we expect in any off spring of ours anyway?
When they called us to go clean it out, I swear to you - it was like going to a funeral.  We were a mess!  We got all of our things out of it and said our good byes.  And we might have popped off he Saturn emblem from the front bumper as a souvenir.  Maybe.  It's not like the bumper was actually attached anymore or anything.

 It's really a shame we live in such a disposable society where it is cheaper to junk a really nice car rather than fix it.  It went off to the salvage yard and that is breaking our hearts.  The repair shop said someone would most likely buy it and do the repairs themselves and fix it.  That made us sad.  But, then again, it made us happy that maybe someone else could enjoy "Stu the Vue."  We still have one of the keys with the remote  - The Bean wants to drive by the salvage yard every day and set off the alarm just to show it we still care and to give the mean old salvage yard a kick in the seat.

So with that, I must put my sadness behind me and tell my Pretty Car that you were special to all of us.  You took us fun places and helped me transport so much junk.  Some days we just needed to get out of the house and take a ride.  You were a part of our family and we will always remember you!  Whenever we see another red Saturn VUE on the road we will think how lucky the people in it are to own it.  Thanks for everything you did for you and the places you took us.  We are forever grateful.  :(

Thankfully we had good insurance that paid us a fair amount and we were able to go buy this lovely today:

It's a 2011 Ford Escape and it is gorgeous.  It is just so nice - I think it's too nice for me to own.  I said earlier I needed to wear a tiara when I ride in it.  It's got things like heated leather seats, blind spot mirrors and somehow you can magically hook your phone up to it and talk to people through your steering wheel.  Or something like that.  So far I can make it go forward and backward and run the Air Conditioning.  And, that's all I really need on this 105 degree day.

Mama's in charge of the payment so I gotta buy lots and lots of  JUNK and sell, sell, SELL!   Off to read the ads for tomorrow!

8 comments:

  1. Wow, your old car looks like it was in great shape! 60K is just getting broken in for us. I never loved a car as much as I loved the one that got totalled last year ... I know exactly what you mean about saying goodbye to it! However - it is very, very easy to adjust to driving a new car, and yours is a beauty!

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  2. I'm with Barbara: 60K is just getting broken in for us too. And, yes, you kept Stu in great shape. It is a sad, disposable society.

    I do like the new one though (a beauty). jake the escape?

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  3. Take solace in the fact that someone will fix it up and take care of Stu. My SweetiePie was an auto/body guy for 40+ years and that is how we got several of our cars. It's called recycling!! And 60K is just getting started. All of our vehicles have over 100K and still going. Enjoy the new guy.

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  4. Welcome to the WONDERFUL WORLD of the ESCAPE ~. We Love ours! I promise you will soon become attached to your new shiny knight 8-)

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  5. I completely understand! We had a car that was in an accident (front bumper) and they totaled it also! Yikes, what a shock. Hard to say goodbye to a good car. But I must admit your new ride is gorgeous! Now go buy some junk!! hugs, Linda

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  6. I was so surprised when you said they were totalling it too. You guys were good stewards of what you had. Think of what a great example you've set for The Bean! That ethic will serve him well in his adult life!

    PS--you are gonna LOVE those heated seats come January. I know I do! :)

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  7. I just bought a new car myself two weeks ago, a Mercury Mariner - a brother to the Ford Escape. And I had to junk my car I'd had for 12+ years (It died. In the middle of an intersection. During 5:00 traffic.) and when I went to get the check from the salvage yard and saw my little green car in with all the old junkers, I got choked up. The guy laughed and said that happens every day. We spend a lot of time in our cars and get attached to them.

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  8. That is a CRYING shame! When my 1984 Lincoln got rear ended I thought FOR SURE they would total it... but nope! They spent 3 times what we paid for it to get it fixed... as the French say "Le- sigh"

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