Bluebell is 15

Fifteen years and about one month ago I was in a car accident on the way to work. Wenbin Dang wasn't paying attention and slammed into me and then I hit Sekhar Tatikonda (you can almost tell the story using their names!). I was hit so hard that when I tried to open the door to get out, it wouldn't open. I knew the frame was most likely bent and I was looking at the possibility of the car being totaled (it was a 6 year old Honda Civic). Then everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. It took forever to get an estimate (there was a big snow storm a few days after the accident which delayed the insurance company). When I requested the title from California (where I bought the car) it wasn't a "clear" title even though the car had been paid off for a year and I had to deal with lots of red tape. I was given a rental car for a month and when I asked to extend (because of all these problems that weren't my fault) they hassled me. And, I had to decide if I wanted a new or used car (I didn't want to inherit anyone else's car problems) to replace my 1988 Honda Civic that was now totaled. I test drove the new Civic and loved it so I put a $500 down payment on a brand new Honda Civic LX at Honda Cars of Boston. That model came in only 5 colors and I requested either Harvard Blue or Phantom Gray. Within a few days I received a call from the dealership saying, and I quote, "We cannot find that car anywhere in New England." Are you kidding me? In California there were dealerships with acres and acres of new cars. Not so in quaint New England. I told the man that I wanted my check back. I naively thought that would make him find me the car I wanted. It didn't. He told me to pick up my check. I called a few dealerships myself with no luck and then thought, "What cities are close to here but not in New England?" A few weeks before I had taken some friends to the Berkshires and we had darted a few miles into New York since one of them had never been there. So I called 411 and asked for a Honda dealership in Albany, New York. I called the dealership and asked if they had the car I was looking for in the colors I wanted. The guy said, in his slick car salesman tone, "I can get you that car." I repeated, "Do you have that car?" He put me on hold and a few minutes later told me that he did have that car in dark blue. I gave him a deposit on a credit card over the phone. I faxed back the credit application. And I went to the bank in Harvard Square after work to get a bank check for a few thousand dollars. The next morning I took the subway to South Station and hopped on a Greyhound Bus headed for Albany with a tote bag carrying a book, some snacks, and my license plate. My bishop and my mother both told me not to buy the car if it wasn't what I wanted. No worries. If they didn't have the car I wanted my plan was to buy a return bus ticket to Boston. I got to Albany and took a cab to the dealership. As I stepped out of the cab a guy said, "You must be the woman from Boston." He showed me the car and it was exactly what I wanted except for the white pinstripes. He gave me the keys to a brand new Accord and directions to the mall. While he was removing the pin striping and getting the car ready (including filling the gas tank), I walked around the mall and ate lunch. When I returned to the dealership the guy showed me how to work the radio, air conditioning, and cruise control and then I was heading east on the New York Thruway. And that was 15 years ago yesterday.


















I'm not sure Bluebell will last another 15 years but she has been my steady companion on many road trips and adventures. Happy Birthday, Bluebell!