And So It Goes

Hi All!

It is with a heart both heavy and light that I must report that I let the Mercedes get away. My neighbor broke his word at the same time that I was moving away from this "sure bet" investment.

My emotions have been on a Valley Fair roller coaster ride since Saturday when he yanked it away and sold it instantly.

It WAS a steal. A SCREAMING deal. I always wanted one. You only live once. I might not have much time to live, so why invest money I don't have that buys a 100% instant appreciation?

I guess I had a rare "mature" moment when I hesitated long enough to queer the deal. As a total car nut, I had to sell my first new car when the second son arrived. 12 years, 20,000 miles, perfectly preserved Scirocco Champagne Edition. Invested $10,000, realized $4000.

On my birthday the next year, what should I see when driving past Roseville Auto than my concours baby completely totalled and awaiting a the extaction of an intact 20,000 mile engine which was probably worth $2000.

That car would be worth quite a bit more today.......

So I tried to make up for it with the XR4ti Screamer. Bought it for my birthday, put 12 miles on it and if you have read this blog you will know what happened.

The 1974 MB 450SE was my last best chance to own a classic. I am feeling more and more relieved that I didn't take it on, given my circumstances. Dammit though, I am starting to become what I hated when I was young. One of my favorite lines from The Who is "Hope I die before I get old." Too painfully true.

Speaking of which, after a down week I have had an up week, energy wise. It's at times like this that I feel immortal again, and I reflect with satisfaction having survived several years of hearing "You have about six months..."

It's at a time like this that reminds that you have a mint 1972 Beetle in which you learned to drive at 15, passed the test at 16, racked up enough stories to fill a book that is begging to be written ... stories that continue to this day as I have almost convinced my 14-year-old baby girl to give it a whirl on the back roads of NW Wisconsin.

That cute little bug is a part of me and I cannot believe that I fathomed selling it. I think I may put a clause in my will that it will be kept in the family in perpetuity.

As to Cate, who is quite experienced with the Scorpio with automatic tranny, Vegas has prohibitive odds on whether she will pop the clutch and kill the engine for the first so many times. Over/Under? I'm pegging at 6 (which would be pretty good) I'm going over. You can place your bets via Paypal by visiting my family website and navigating to "donations." So far, in 4 years, no manna has fallen from heaven.

During the Carter years, I was one of those who worried that the monetary system was on the verge of collapse, so I bought 10 gold coins and a silver brick in case I needed to buy a loaf of bread to feed my family.

To finance the Benz, I sold the brick at a nice profit (well not so nice for having held it for
24 years -- only doubled my money) and was ready to pawn the coins. My rationale was that having held on to this at such a lousy return, I could swap it for an automatic profit. "You can't drive silver and gold" was my justificational excuse.

Now I say, "Gold doesn't cost noth'n to own". Sure, you can't drive it but it don't use gas, require maintenance and take up valuable driveway space, we being a 5 car family already, and on and on.

And on and on this went.

So it goes.

Watch for Part II.

Cheers!