My Son's Jeep

My son hates cats.  He didn't use to, but he has become an avid cat hater.

My son is not a big man.  He stands something in the neighborhood of 5' 4 -5" in  his stocking feet. (in Metric that would be about 160 Centimeters).  Like many shorter people  he works to make up for his size.  He was an excellent athlete in High School and holds several track records, he was (and still is) an avid soccer player, and likes all sorts of outdoor sports. 

The kid is good looking, popular, and has never had any problem attracting the attention of numerous young ladies.

Some ten years ago, Tim decided to go into the Army.  He did so to take advantage of the Montgomery G. I. Bill.  For four years of service, the Army deposited something in the neighborhood of $36,000 towards a college education. In the Army, Tim decided that he would "Be All he could be".  He went Airborne, then next into Rangers, and still was not satisfied.  He endeavored to go to SERE Training.  If you ever saw the movie G. I. Jane, you would know that this is Survival, Escape, Resistance, and Evasion training.  This is a school where the instructors beat the crap out of you.  They really do…  He volunteered for everything, and excelled at all. The kid was nuts.  He seemed to like it.

Three years ago Tim left active duty.  He had saved some money, and decided that the first thing that he needed was a new car.  He had studied automobiles, and decided that he would get what others considered the best car for the money. 
He purchased a brand new Volkswagen Jetta.  It was black, small, and sensible.  It ran well, and got good mileage.  Of course he could not take it hunting or off road, but he had friends with off road vehicles.  Big hurky macho machines, with big tires, lots of lights, and an abundance of mud.

The problem with his Volkswagen, was that it WAS sensible.  It was the sort of  machine that engineers, accountants, and computer nerds drove.  His ego could not stand something sensible.    He needed something more.  His manhood demanded it.

Each day he would drive by the Jeep dealership, each day he would look at what  they had…. Until finally he found the object of his love.  It was an aqua blue Jeep Wrangler, it was glorious, it was beautiful.  It stood and shined iridescently from atop the hill by the dealership.  It had a roll bar, it had a black detachable hard top, it had four wheel drive, and it spoke of things most manly.   It called to him.  It called with a sirens call, that he was unable to resist.

Goodbye Volkswagen, hello Jeep.

My son loved this jeep.  He lavished it with attention.  He shined it, he
cleaned, he polished.  The vehicle wanted for nothing.

Let me digress a minute and tell you about my neighbor.  My neighbor is a lady in her mid fifties.  She is divorced and is still recovering from an abusive marriage.  She is a kind person, and loves animals.  She particularly likes cats.  He former husband would not let her have a cat, so it is not too strange that she decided to get one.  She got a female and lavished it with attention.  Sadly, she did not get it fixed, and it had kittens.  Not only did the cat have kittens, but in about a years time, so did the kittens, and later on their kittens did as well.

Do you get the picture?  The nice lady has cats, lots and lots of cats.  Red cats, stripped cats, white cats, black cats, cats of all sizes and sex… oh yes, and lots and lots of cat sex.

We live in Oregon, the Pacific North West.  Our winters are mild and wet, and our summers are mild and fairly dry.  It is nice country and we appreciate the sun when it shines. 

One of the advantages of having a Jeep with a detachable hard top is that you can take the top off.  The detachable top is an "extra" and people have to pay extra for it, so it was not too surprising that my young son decided it was time to take the top off of his car.