Thursday, August 27, 2009

Cough cough, wheez wheez, oh please

It is by the nature of my business to see a large group of people each and every day. And as it goes I see many of their automobiles as I either walk past them in the parking lot or help them load their purchases. This has been one of my duties for many years in retail. What astounds me to this day is how people treat their cars. Quite frankly most are rolling garbage heaps.

Day by day I walk past vehicles littered with stuff. I understand those that must work out of their cars if it is their profession. There are careers that it is a necessity to drag your office with you, salesmen (used as a gender neutral word), nurses, insurance and the like. But that does not exclude the rest of the population from at least attempting to keep their cars clean.

And I don't mean a french fry or a gum wrapper dropped on the floorboards. I'm talking about unadulterated filth, garbage piled so high it reaches the back windows. This is only a small percentage RT, you say. No no no, I counter. Car after car is nothing more than a small version of a Waste Management truck. I can't fathom those that would pay twenty or thirty thousand dollars for a vehicle and turn it into nothing more than a big ashtray. There are people I have had to wait literally ten minutes for them to find space to put their bags. I for one would be embarrassed.

If I had to guess I would reason that 75 percent of them I would not want to ride in. I'm not a clean freak but I do at least want sanitary conditions, not my feet stuck to the floor. Many years ago I rode to the bank with a woman that worked for me. That's how it was done before the wide-spread adoption of armored car service. She had so many Burger King bags piled in the back seat I thought the king himself would come busting out in song. Needless to say I never rode in that vehicle again.

My neighbor the inimitable Mr. Doogles is quite the opposite. His favorite thing to do is to wash his cars. For his birthday present I am going to let him wash mine. I think it's something he would enjoy. For the rest of you at least take some pride in what you own or close the windows so the flies don't get out.

3 comments:

  1. Now that I no longer have car seats, my car is tons better. It does, however, get a bit messier during baseball season, as someone had a game or practice every day of the week except Sunday. I now, however, dump the trash every time I fill up the car. Today, there were only two items to toss!

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  2. There's a difference between dirty from valid use (such as dirt from baseball cleats or wet dog hair) and just being an absolute slob! I too see these cars everywhere with stuff piled as high as it will go. I saw a women at walmart Monday doing a complex 3D jigsaw puzzle trying to get everything in her SUV.

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  3. Well, you get a pass since you are part 'farm-girl'. Working vehicles get special consideration.

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