My Civic Duty

I woke Saturday around 530am just like it was a work day. Happy to discover that it wasn't, I quickly was able to drift back asleep. By 715am I'd woken maybe three or four more times. I didn't plan to leave for boat winterization until 1030am, but considering I needed to relax, enjoy coffee, and run, I figured I should get up at 730am so not to feel rushed.

At 730am I headed downstairs and started some coffee. The sky was partly cloudy and temperature 41 degrees. I fooled around online for about an hour in total. At her request, I took Mindy some coffee around 800am. I told her that I was dreading the thought of taking Lindsey with me to have the boat winterized. I offered that for my own sanity, I thought it might make more sense for me to head up to Paul's Marine and back alone, even if it meant heading right back up and around 270 later on with Lindsey. Mindy supported my thinking. That's what I would do. I felt a whole lot better about my morning.

I dressed and left for a run around 815am. By then it was mostly sunny but still chilly. I was just happy to see the sunshine. I ran my weekend route of just 3 miles. It was an easy run. As soon as I was back at home I pulled the cover off the drivers' side of the boat and then pulled the garden hose to the motor and placed the water muffs around the intake. I pumped the gas several times, since it hadn't been started since the 2nd week of July. The battery turned over fairly strong, but the engine didn't fire. I worried that I might drain the battery trying. Paul's marine warns that you must bring the boat with a charged battery or else risk additional costs to get it running.
Lucky for me, it started on the 5th or 6th crank. I let it run for a solid ten minutes. I checked the fuel gauge which read just under half a tank. That was plenty. While the boat ran I let the air out of our new 3-man tube so I can easily stow it in the boat without it interfering with the cover.

It felt good to have the boat running. I'd been worrying that it might not start for the last few days. Satisfied, I folded up the tube and stowed in the bow area then reattached the boat cover. Next, before heading inside, I put air in all ten tires - 4 Accord, 4 Pilot, and two boat trailer using my Craftsman air compressor. The low tire indicator was on in both of our cars. Seems to happen when we transition from warm to cold.

Inside, Mindy made me a cheese, tomato, and bacon omelet. It was very tasty. Said she texted or called Lindsey to let her know that I was going to take care of the boat by myself and would get her once I had the boat back in storage. Predicted sometime around 1pm. At first, I thought I would skip a shower until later, but after a few minutes I reconsidered and hustled upstairs around 955am to get in the shower.

I was showered and ready to roll by 1015am. I made sure that I had storage and boat keys then left. It was a smooth drive up 270 then north on route 23. Paul's marine is located at Lewis Center Rd & St route 23. Been through this drill many times. Leave the keys in the car and park just outside the overhead doors. I was early. There was another boat being winterized when I arrived. hey gave me a pager and invited me to head into the showroom to shop, or enjoy coffee. This year I opted for a 'standard' winterization which included an oil and filter change. Expected it to take about an hour. I walked around the showroom checking out a few new Sea Rays. Sticker shock! The boat that caught my eye was a 22' black & white open bow Sea Ray. It came with everything. It was gorgeous. The price, on sale for $54,000. No thanks! We took our boat out only 5 or 6 times in total over the last three summers. I think our 'paid-for' boat is just fine!

They now have a gun shop at the rear of the facility. I briefly looked at the pistols in the display case while a couple customers talked guns with the sales guy. They were talking guns like I might talk about golf clubs or snow skis. So not me! I eventually ventured back to the front where they have a comfy sitting area and free coffee. I took up refuge there with my book and a cup of coffee. Mindy called around 1215pm to see how it was going. Moments later the pager went off. My boat was ready. I headed to the office to pay my tab. No surprises. Said everything looks good. See ya next year!

Traffic was a little slow heading south on rt. 23 all the way to 270. However, made decent time getting back to Hilliard. I dropped the boat at storage near 105pm. Ed saw me out there and popped his head out and said I could leave it right where I stopped. He would put it away for the winter that afternoon. Cool!

I headed for home. Lindsey and the boys were already at the house awaiting my return. Mindy went after them. It must've been when Lindsey stepped out for a cigarette that Mindy shared that she let Lindsey borrow a pair of jeans. Said she was originally in a pair of sawed off sweat pants. Funny, the thought crossed my mind earlier to make sure Lindsey dressed somewhat professionally. After all, we were doing a business transaction.

Lindsey and I left the house around 125pm and headed towards Germain Honda. I asked if she had the keys to her Accent and if she cleaned it out just as we discussed. He acted surprised, which set me off. Nope, she hadn’t. Great! Without the keys we couldn’t do the trade-in. We both guessed the AAA auto repair center to be closed. Surprisingly it wasn’t. She went inside to get her key confirming that she owed them nothing.

She unlocked the Accent to grab her personal belongings. I got out to help. She would’ve been much better served to take care of this on Friday. I was beside myself, not only with the filth, but also with the cigarette tobacco scattered all about the dash. Lindsey gave me some BS about not having time to clean out the car over the last week. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in several months. I ripped her one. Not exactly what I wanted to see right before handing her the keys to a brand new car. I am pretty sure that I told her that I would kill her if she trashed the new Civic. She was taken back. I was pissed! I briefly considered driving straight home.

Germain Honda, as it turned out, was directly across Sawmill Rd. To get there, however, we had to head north of 270 and turn around then head south again thanks to a concrete barrier dividing the traffic. Chris was outside when we walked over to find him. I introduced Lindsey then he took us to the Civic he already had prepped and ready for us to pick-up. Said he was in the middle of completing another deal, so he handed us off to another really nice guy that would go over the car’s operation with Lindsey. Chris said he’d come get us when he was done and we could finalize the deal.

Can’t recall the kids name but he was really nice and very patient, going over the new Civic’s operation with Lindsey. It really is a super little car. He said he has a new Civic too. Said he gets about 42 mpg on the highway, which is a couple mpg more than the sticker indicates. I found the same to be true with my Accord. I headed over to look at the new Accords while waiting for Chris. We finally synched up around 240pm. The first thing we did was go over all the numbers. I found a $400 mistake in my favor. He assured me that it would’ve been caught by finance, too. I trust him.

When I shared our title/financing plans he let me know that Lindsey would also have to be on the loan. Ran a credit report on both of us. Of course mine was stellar. Lindsey’s … not so much. He told Lindsey that seeing this loan through to completion without issue will advance her rating significantly. We eventually walked over to the finance office to complete the formal deal. We had to wait for about 15 minutes for Jack L., one of the finance guys. By then it was 330pm and time for the Buckeye game kick-off. They had a 32” flat panel tuned to the game.

Went through the deal. I knew it was coming, the dreaded upsell tactics. Among other things, trying to get us to buy extended service plans that would increase the monthly payment anywhere from $33- $69 a month. I politely insisted that we wanted nothing extra. The payment was actually a couple dollars less than I calculated. I opted to write a check to cover the sales tax right then, though could have financed that too. Money is cheap, .9% for 60 months. They knocked $2000 off the sticker price and gave us $300 for Lindsey’s broken down Accent. To my eyes, this was a super deal! Oh, they filled the gas tank too.

Jack informed us that we couldn’t leave the dealership with the car until he had proof of full coverage. Generally that isn’t an issue since most trade-ins have full coverage, but Lindsey carried only liability on the Accent. I had to email and call her agent two or three times before we worked it all out. That cost us about another hour of time. We didn’t get out of the dealership until almost 5pm. Lindsey suggested she would follow me home. My preference would have been to take 270, but we exited to Sawmill which traffic can only head south. I watched Lindsey via my rearview and more than once she made erratic moves with her brand new car that scared me. We took Sawmill to Bethel to Riverside Dr. Arrived home around 530pm.

As soon as we arrived home Mindy and Lindsey went for a ride in the new car. Lindsey insisted that Mindy drive. I used the few minutes to decompress and make copies of important documents for the new Civic. Once Mindy & Lindsey were back, Mindy helped Lindsey load the laundry into the Civic at my prompting. Didn’t want her to scratch the new car.
Mindy was going to ask Lindsey to stay and watch our kids while she and I went to dinner, but after learning that Bella was going to a weenie roast with Makayla and her grandpa, Mindy saw no reason to have Lindsey watch Jacob. Jacob was heading over to AJ’s anyhow.

Mindy and I left for CBC around 630pm. We dropped Jacob at AJ’s on our way. The Buckeye game was still underway, but for all intents and purposes over. They were ahead by something like 30 points. We saw the end from the CBC bar. Hadn’t been in CBC for a couple of weeks. Vince and Emily were tending bar. I asked for a Bodhi. Mindy asked for wine. Without any prompting, Vince brought us risotto balls. Yum! Mindy asked for some bread too.

I was still thinking about the car deal, and still even a bit bewildered by some of the things Lindsey said and did. I worry that she still doesn’t get the whole ‘own your power’ thing. The Bodhi helped take the edge off. I ordered a 2nd. Mindy talked about ordering dinner, but after a couple hours she decided that she wasn’t ready for a dinner after all. She suggested we simply order some wings for takeout. We already had plans to take some home to Jacob. She asked Vince to put in two orders of to-go wings. I stuck with just two beers since I’d be driving. I let Mindy enjoy herself. I think she had two glasses of wine, maybe three.

We left for home around 9pm. Mindy called Jacob, who was still at AJ’s house, and told him we would swing by and pick him up. She called again from out front. He met us out front and we headed home. The CBC wings were again sub-par. Not only were they somewhat undercooked, but they were lacking sauce too. Used to be some of the most consistent Buffalo style wings anywhere. I ate four or five, and so did Mindy. Jacob ate only half his too. He wasn’t too thrilled with then either.

We watched some of the Alabama/LSU game. Forgot to mention, we watched the end of the Notre Dame/Pitt game at CBC. Notre Dame should’ve lost in OT, but Pitt missed a chip shot field goal (20 yards). Mindy headed to bed around 10pm, but not before Bella called asking if Makayla could spend the night. The two of them came running to the house just after Mindy headed to bed. I stayed up playing around online and watching football until about 1045pm. I poured a 2nd beer but couldn’t drink more than a sip or two. I covered it with a baggie for Sunday consumption. Good night moon!
.