Lime-Green Luck

Two years ago, Younger Son had a bad dream involving a lime green Beetle, and "Beware the lime green Volkswagen!" became a family catchphrase.

Not that Son held it against the brand. In fact, a couple months before he left for college, and with our assistance, he bought a slightly used Beetle with warm seats and a skylight--not lime green, of course, but a nice light blue.

He had a stroke of bad luck a month out when he ran over a cinder block in the middle of a back road one dark night, and, as soon as that was repaired, encountered a shredded truck tire in the inside lane of the highway in broad daylight.

Then the car's motor started dying at irregular intervals. Not only did the extensive repairs not hold, but there were problems with a replacement car rental contract which Son had to go all the way up the Enterprise line to get resolved.

After dumping a small fortune into further repairs, he drove the car to California, where it died completely and has been sunning itself in lonely, immobile splendor in front of his landlord's house for eighteen months. We're still making the payments.

That %*&# car's skin may be blue, but I think its heart is pure lime green.