Tough decisions

I've come to a crossroads in my life.

In November, I received a back injury at work, which has made it very uncomfortable to ride my bike or drive my truck. Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), which is basically asthma with an attitude. This summer, whenever we've had a major storm or extreme humidity, I've needed to stay in the air conditioning. Unfortunately, about two weeks ago, I had to go to work early on a Thursday morning. I took my preventative inhalers, but the next thing I realized after leaving the house was that I was sitting in my driveway trying to call my wife on my cell phone.

Apparently I had collapsed due to lack of oxygen due to my lungs' inability to process the humid air. I'm told by the doctor that I need to stick to air conditioning as much as possible on humid days or days with a high pollen count, etc. My little S-10 has no air conditioning. My sabre and my Kymco don't either.

Add to that that I have been transferred to a new job at work that will require me to use my personal vehicle at times, and my truck really isn't set up for that.

So, I'm selling the truck, and the big bike. I'll keep the Kymco since it is so cheap to run and keep insured.


On Wednesday, my wife and I were taking our son to an appointment, and I saw a sky blue vehicle that really caught my attention. I was shocked at the price sticker and even more shocked when I went online and looked at the dealer's website to find that they'd gone even lower than that.

I did some research and found out I was looking at a 2002 Ford powertrain with an excellent reliability history. My wife and I looked at our finances and looked at the cost of the vehicle and found that it's well within our budget.

Yeah, ok, so it's not really a Ford* on the surface, but it's a Ford underneath (which will help keep repair and maintenance costs down). The fuel economy is good for a V6, and it was a literal steal price-wise and hardly will put a dent in our monthly budget. It's a luxury car, but it's an older luxury car. It has lumbar support in the front seats, which I need, and it's not a standard so I'm not always shifting and throwing my back around. Most importantly, it has a working A/C unit. I will be able to breathe on humid days.

I'm disappointed that I had to make a financial outlay of any sort, just as we were starting to get ahead again, and I'm even more disappointed that I have to get rid of both my truck and my big bike, but as my physical health has changed, so have my priorities.

Here's to riding comfortably and healthy, and hopefully having enough good days that I can still ride the scooter.

* For those wondering, it's a 2002 Jaguar S-type 3.0L V6. They are extremely inexpensive to get into used because they are a foreign car; however, those with a Ford powertrain have excellent reliability and are not as bad on repairs as those without the Ford parts.