Shady green

Here is a photo of my current vehicle. Taken a couple of summers ago. I have had it for ten years now. My brother works in a steel mill and I was raised to never, ever purchase a foreign vehicle. I guess he got tired of coming to pick me up after the American cars kept breaking down and leaving me stranded along the road.

This car has served me well. I try to justify the purchase with the fact that it was assembled in Canada. And, that there is a Honda shop in Marysville, Ohio. I don't know if I will ever know all of the facts or not. He won't purchase any other vehicle but a Ford. I have owned two Fords. A Gran Torino and a Galaxie 500. Both of them were more trouble than they were worth. To be honest, I did purchase both of them used. They may have been previously abused.

This Civic I bought brand new, and I made sure it was taken care of. I have done everything by the book. And, I have never regretted the purchase. Except maybe a longing for a four door once in a while. I fell in love with the color. I have received more compliments on this car than I can remember. However, I probably won't be purchasing such an outstanding shade of green again. I stand out like a sore thumb in this thing.

My daughter is having problems this evening with her boyfriend's family. He called her and his older (half)brother keeps hitting him while he is on the phone. The boyfriend would have to hang up to defend himself and then he would call back and it starts all over again. The older (half)brother wanted to use the telephone. My daughter was getting very upset. I asked her "Where is the Mother?" I figured maybe she wasn't home. Siblings can get rough when the parent figure is out of the house. I also told my daughter to tell him to stop calling her, he was just upsetting her. Then I began to think that maybe he was scared. Then I figured out he was being stubborn and by calling her he was proving to the older (half)brother that he wasn't going to give up the phone just because he said so. Keep in mind that both boys have their own cell phones.

The next time he called, my daughter asked to speak to his Mom. She asked the Mother why she wasn't stopping them from fighting. She said that she was getting tired of hearing the older boy beating on her boyfriend and she was going to call the cops. The Mom said something back to her about my daughter telling her how to raise her kids, and then handed the phone back over to her son. Now, I am upset. I told my daughter that she shouldn't have spoken to his Mom like that. She should have asked her if she could put a stop to it. My daughter said that she never does, she just sits and watches it. She said his Mom doesn't like her.

I tried to raise my daughter to respect her elders. I really have. I don't approve of her speaking like that (not to anyone) and I tell her so. I hope it blows over. I don't like violence of any kind. My Mother never tolerated it between me and my siblings. She would grab our heads and threaten to bang our heads together. I know that sounds harsh, but we rarely fought. And, she never banged our heads together that I know of. Most parents ruled with a belt strap and a hickory switch back then anyway. (Not mine.)

Maybe this is the beginning of the end to this relationship.