Deborah Annette Shaw

Now that I'm back to work full time, I'm busier than usual. My car died. Her name was Sadie and she was a 1999 Saturn SL2. I drove her for nearly eight years in spite of the fact she'd go through a quart of oil every thousand miles. Then after the second bitter cold spell this winter, Sadie wouldn't start. AAA couldn't get her started and in the end, they thought her battery had died. They took her to my favorite mechanic. Gail called me the next day to tell me that Sadie's timing belt went out and there was a good chance it bent the valves. I was looking at $800 to $1800 to repair an old car that used a lot of oil. I had also had two new wheel bearings put in last summer and I could tell that another wheel bearing was going. The driver side window motor had been replaced and some other things that I can't recall off the top of my head right now. The point is that at some point you have to decide enough is enough. So, while I confess I do get attached to my cars, I had to let Sadie go. The good thing is that Gail has a 1999 fastback in the same color as Sadie and he can use parts off her to keep his Saturn going for a long time. His Saturn is mint.

So, with Gail's help, I bought a Honda Civic, also a '99. I named him Hugh after a character in Star Trek: The Next Generation who had been assimilated by the dreaded Borg, a race of humanoids that were mostly machine after assimilation. Hugh was found in a space crash, and Geordi, the Enterprise engineer, taught Hugh that humans value their individuality and don't want to be assimilated into a hive mind. Through the friendship that resulted, Hugh found his humanity again and he had a big heart. That's why I named my Honda Civic after him even though the Borg freaked me out.

Hugh, being a Honda in very good condition, should be a part of my family for a long time. I'm looking forward to taking a couple of trips with him. I'm really looking forward to not having to feed him oil every thousand miles and I think he's going to make an appreciable difference to my gas budget. Sadie was pretty good on gas, but I'm betting Hugh will be better....