Why Being Old Works…

Dear Reader:

This is where the “Green Vue” was discovered….on the other side of Old Orangeburg road…a location we local folks call the “boonies.”

The car ended up less than 10 miles from my house. It was trashed but remarkably not permanently damaged. A true miracle the (last) officer told me….most stolen cars are never found or if they are they have been wrecked in the process. I was in the small percentage of the population that got their car back in fairly stable condition.

In other words…the juvenile delinquent car thief didn’t want my car. All the idiosyncrasies I have complained about on my old car proved to be the catalyst to its discovery & recovery. I have an engine light that comes on (computer light switch problem) but nothing to do with engine problems and an oil light that comes on….when there is plenty of oil.

Any of you with old cars know this to be true…we just get so used to these “blurbs” that we visually tune them out….and just keep on keeping on.

I think the “Green Vue” went on a short “joy ride” which turned out not to be very joyful and the culprit decided this car was going to stop and leave him stranded. So he picked a remote neighborhood far out with just trailers, woods, and fields…one of which had a huge trailer and parked the car between the trailer and the woods.

A neighbor cutting his lawn saw it, looked inside and saw it was trashed…the thief had taken the baby seat out and thrown it and lots of papers from the consoles and drawers out into the woods. He called the police and the report had just gone in…bingo! Car found!

And the thief didn’t throw the birthday bag with Anne’s watercolor in it out in the woods…the bags of zinnia seeds were scattered on the floorboard but still there. Maybe my juvenile delinquent car thief had a heart after all.

From a porn tape and the music blaring…everything pointed to a young person…probably teenager. We will never know why he chose my car…but I have a feeling he realized quickly he had chosen wrong. They couldn’t get a good finger print because there had been a rain shower where the car was parked.

But all is good….what is the name of that song…”If You Want to Be Happy” by Jimmy Soul (1963) with the lyrics….

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life. Never make a pretty woman your wife. So for my personal point of view. Get an ugly girl to marry you…. the same philosophy must work with an ugly car…no one else wants it….even a car thief! 🙂

And now for the story behind Anne’s original watercolor of orange zinnias she gave me….she kept telling me at Oscars that she knew I liked bright orange flowers…especially zinnias…but when she finished the watercolor…she thought it was too serious…it should look happier.

I told her I saw “happy” and then, suddenly, three little packets of sunflower, zinnia, and Black-eyed Susan seeds fell out of the bag.

Now I knew  the symbolism was that next March or early spring when I plant the seeds… the happiness will come with the re-birth of a beautiful bed of bright colorful flowers to start a new season. In the painting two of the orange zinnias are starting to bow their heads, no longer in full bloom…ready to make seeds for the next generation…but they aren’t sad…they are happy for the ones who come after them!

So until tomorrow…There are “perks” at every age…and sometimes the best perks come as we age…because we know the secrets to what is really important and how not to believe everything we see!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Ging-g took me yesterdayto get my second CT-Scan  along with some lab work. The wonderful Sheila…the  CT Scanner/ technician was there to greet us again. I was so relieved to be done with the procedure…I had woken up with reflux and then had to drink that chalky drink for the CT-Scan. I was so relieved my stomach made it through the whole procedure! Whew! Glad that is over!  Thanks so much Gin-g for going and for a delicious chicken salad meal to celebrate it being over…

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
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4 Responses to Why Being Old Works…

  1. Cindy Ashley says:

    I miss not being able to comment and see other ones on FB. Glad your car still works and medical procedure is over. Here’s to a wonderful day.
    Cindy

  2. bcparkison says:

    So glad you got the Green Vue back. She is part of the family.
    We had something very much like this happen when we lived in Atlanta ( what were we thinking)
    Seems some just like to joy ride in any thing that will go.

  3. Glad you got your car back. It can be so hard buying a new one, when we are accustomed to the idiosyncrasies of the old one.

  4. So glad you got your car back! and I love the watercolor!!

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