Orange Peels & Moth Wings

Whoa, nelly! What the hell happened to November? I know, like an old warped record I keep singing the same ol song, and it goes like this "please, oh please, let this year end." Ok, maybe not a song...a diddy? Certainly, it ain't no jingle. Jingle is waaaay too happy a description for this downright miserable, kleenex-filled mental mind melt of a year. So, poised and ready to kick 2009 to the curb, the days seemingly go on forever. Slowly, they loll by, some worse than others. Now back at a "real job," our family has adjusted yet again to new schedules and we have had to hit the gas together. Our week days merge into one long menagerie of buses, day care, making toast while brushing teeth and splitting up wars over whose freaking eraser is whose. The last month in particular was an extreme vapor speed burn out of 30 days - add to that an immediate double-digit-decline of the turkey population and an instant double-digit-incline of body fat, and it is downright head spinning. It seems though the restoration of "red bird" has ramped up, matching our breakneck pace of the last couple of months....and I am not complaining! If you have followed the last few entries, you are up to speed on the painting "negotiations" at our house. Not a big surprise that CJ and those big brown eyes and his awww, shucks earnestness have won me over, again. How do you think I had kid #2? No one gives birth twice without some serious coercion. The guy even brought visual aids to the table. Storage box diving in the basement for photos of previous vehicles and his painting ability all lined up like a P.I. chronicling a crime, he made his case. He could do this. Ok, all joking aside I truly believe in this person "more than anyone in the whole, entire millionth, gagillionth universe of all humans" as Hannah would say. So.....viscoine tent? Constructed! Curious/doubtful/eye rolling neighbors taking pre-paint tours? Completed! Hundreds of dollars dropped at Hawley's Paint? Yep, er, maybe not dropped - but diverted for a while! So, I came home on painting day #1, eagerly shook off my bag and coat, anxious to see the results. CJ was mumbling something about "how hard it is to paint in the dark." I stopped dead in my tracks, preparing for a new game of "bowling for husbands" with any large inanimate household object I could lay my hands on. He quickly assured me everything was fine while cracking a beer, swallowing hard and avoiding eye contact......never a good sign. And, the first day was no easy road. The lights in combination with the compressor was too much of a load and tripped the circuit breaker and cut off the power. So, yes, CJ was indeed in the dark. And with the compressor off, it caused low pressure and some serious orange peel on the drivers side that had to be re-done. And despite the home made tent, a lot of bugs have to be sanded out. But, I must say our little "red bird" is shining bright red again like a polished cherry plucked straight off a tree. She almost looks proud... perched up on a dais saying "yo, check me out." CJ went from continually saying to me that this was going to be "no show car," to saying that "verona red has never looked so good." I have to agree. She looks brand-spanking, much like the day Owner #1 found her. Recently, I received a note back from Owner #1 (I tracked him down from his name scrawled in the original owners manual and dropped him a line). He said that he stayed local, and still walks by the auto repair shop that was the original site of the BMW dealership in Mill Valley in '73 where he bought Red. He wrote that selling Red was one of those moves/mistakes under "What was I thinking?" It turns out that Owner #1 and I shared the same ultimate dream car - a 1973 BMW 3.0 CSI...actually, that was until tonight. Now my dream car is safely tented up, nestled next to the house under shimmering holiday lights, waiting patiently until she can be set free.