MINI-VAN, MUSIC AND LIFE

About three years ago, I made a rash decision, to trade in my newer Toyota, for an older Mini Van. The car salesman thought I was crazy. I wanted a more roomier vehicle than I had and this was the tradeoff. It was an even trade. It’s been a workhorse taking us through the mountains of West Virginia and Pennsylvania. And the wide open spaces of Indiana and Ohio. I like the van because the outside is the color of pumpkins, orange. And the inside is black, for a combination, that makes me think of Halloween, everyday, instead of once a year. On the downside, it has higher mileage than I would like. And it’s becoming increasingly difficult to climb up into. The other problem with it is, the radio/cd-player stopped working, about a year after I got it. That means I’ve been driving it for two years without any music. That depresses me. I love music. When I told my hubby it was broken, he said he’d take a look. He did and tried to solder a board inside the radio, after he had taken it apart, and saw a connection was broken. I was excited because that fixed it. So for a week or two, I got to listen to music. Unfortunately, it was only temporary and the radio stopped working, again. We investigated replacing it. A factory model was over $500 bucks with installation. That was too much. So, then we looked at after market brands. They were about half the cost, but were so complicated, I couldn’t figure out how to operate them. The junkyard also didn’t yield any results. And ultimately, that meant I had no radio/cd-player. And no music in the van. It’s been a sore spot for me, but I’ve dealt with it. Today, to add insult to injury… the damn battery, died. It’s seven years old, the original one, so it needs replacing. But jump starting it doesn’t work. That means we have to call a tow truck, (more money)…  to get it towed to Walmart. We’re both running fevers. Spent Valentines Day eating frozen entrees. Today, when my husband went outside, to deal with the whole van situation… he fell, stepping off the porch. Blood everywhere. He hurt his knee, leg, and hand. Not sure if anything is broken. He refuses to go to the hospital. Neither one of us can walk very well anyway, so this just adds to our problems. He’s 81. He’s tired and fed up. I’m frustrated too. Maybe… when the new battery is installed, the radio will begin working? You never know. “Life isn’t always easy, but life is good.” It’s the only way to look at things, isn’t it? Because it could always be worse.