In Focus

“Do you not go to the Verndale office anymore?” (The Verndale Sun is part of Benning Printing & Publishing and I am in that office one day a week.)

“I’m sitting here right now. What makes you say that?”

“I haven’t seen your car in weeks.”

“Oh, I got a new one. The sign in the window says ‘OPEN’.”

This has happened to me several times in the past few weeks. That little blue Cobalt was so synonymous with me that people just looked for the car. Well, I did have that car for 14 years, so I can understand that. Vehicles really do become part of a person’s identity.

But, please don’t forget to check the sign in the window to see if I’m open and if I’m really at the office.

I can recall countless times someone would find me elsewhere around town or at an event to talk about something because they recognized my car. People even knew where I moved to because of the blue Cobalt.

I will always have fond memories of that car but it was time to get something a little more reliable.

I have found the best explanation of what to look for if you put me in the category of being synonymous with my car: “look for the goofy looking red Nissan.” I really like how my car looks. I’d say the Juke fits my personality pretty well.

I’m still getting used to some of the features...like a working radio clock. I haven’t had a working one in years. And my dash lights work! I’m not used to the brightness but at least it’s a red glow. Also, actual acceleration that doesn’t take 10 minutes to get up to 60 mph. The Bluetooth hooked up to the phone scares the crap out of me every time I get a phone call.

Of course, I have never owned anything four-wheel or all-wheel drive in my life, so driving this winter has been so nice! Granted...nothing works on ice like chains...so all-wheel-drive just turns into an all-wheel “slide”.

When I covered a fire or accident call, local crews were used to seeing the “blue thing”. Now I get the stare down once again until I emerge from my car and get the “oh it’s just you” look. It’s just going to take time for people to get used to it. I’ve only seen one other Juke in the area and it was black. I think I succeeded in finding something unique that not many people have around here.

In a sense, it’s kind of nice to be incognito again. For however long that lasts. But I plan on Juke Bug being around for a long time.

If you see a weird-looking red bug on the road, it’s probably just me.