Names

Car names, like nicnames, need to have a story and meaning. I can't just decide to call a person a different name for no reason but with a story behind it, the nicname sticks. Same when naming cars.

The cars I have owned/driven in various times and jobs usually had names. The Music Bus was was our old Verada station wagon and it used to collect the music team and their instruments for church when my sister ran the music. Then there was the Seacow, the nanny car from last year named from the story of Kotick the White Seal in the second Jungle Book, the seacow is the only thing uglier and with worse manners then Seavitch, a seacow is a dugong and the car was a Hyundi Trajet 7 seater so it fitted really well. Then there was Granny and grandfather's car which is still in Maitland and it's number plate is 666 and for a while it made an unusually loud roar for the size of the car so I called it The Beast. Now the family car is called The Dolphin, the kids named it that because it looks like a dolphin and the name fits her beautifully. Lastly the car that I drive has been named Slowy Blue, Slowy was the idea of the 4 yr old, because she is not a very speedy beast, and Blue because of the pony Bluey last year who COULD go fast once he got warmed up but until then there was not much action. I really like Slowy Blue because she is a cross between The Music Bus and The Beast and is 20 yrs old and has little quirks that I get to find out about and learn to work with.

Some names spring forth into the head suddenly and easily but mostly there is a bit of a wait while you work out which name fits best.

Car Things

I have been nearly hit by a car once and nearly hit somebody else with a car once in similar circumstances.

When I nearly hit someone, I was sitting at a red light in semi dark and the red light turned green but my turning arrow was red. I thought this odd since I was pretty much all of the traffic for the intersection but, being in no hurry, obeyed the laws of the road and waited until the arrow went away and I was able to proceed on my way home. Unfortunately what I had not noticed was the reason I had a red arrow, namely a man crossing the road. Unfortunately he was about half way across and heading nearer when the arrow changed and I went. Happily there was at least a meter of room between us when I turned the corner and I only received an angry glare for not noticing him.

When I was working in Campbelltown last year though, I was walking home from the train station at MacArthur Square and waiting in the nearly dark for the little green walking man to appear. I was wearing Jeans and a black jumper which would have made me blend into the night a fair bit. Beside me was a car containing a driver who was clearly keen to arrive home in a speedy fashion. While we were waiting, me to cross and him to turn left across my path, he was revving gently and sliding back and forth. I should have known he was in a hurry and paid more attention. The light turned green for everybody except him and, unable to see the reason for his red arrow, namely me meandering across the road, he went. Two things prevented injury that night, one was I was dawdling and the other was he accidentally swung wide. Another half step forward and I would have been hit by the front of a 4 wheel drive. As it was he ended up crossing my path so close in front of me that I walked into the side of the car. Like I said, not paying attention.

I was a bit shaken up and though he pulled up down the road a bit, I did not go and talk to him, however that is why we have traffic lights and even if you can't see why things are so, you still know what you should have done.

There was a different problem in Warwick, the main set of lights in the shops had the green arrows to turn left at the same time as the green walking man to cross the same piece of road. I got a few evil glares crossing that road legally.

Seacow

The most recent discovery of the Seacow is that occasionally, the gear-stick is reluctant to move out of park. It sticks fast and nothing I do will shift it until suddenly, it comes rushing down past all the gears and be good to use.