my dad's car Jan 09

A good day today; my interview is OVER, I didn't have to go to work, and I found out some GREAT news about our interest only HELOC (that's home equity line of credit). I won't go in to the details because it's so complicated that even I'm bored (and I look at this shit for a living) but it turns out that we don't have to worry about refinancing the line at all!
I was worried that a balloon would come due this year or in a couple years, and that would entail refinancing, which of course entails a new appraisal and money spent on fees, etc. However, the short version is that I was able to lower the interest rate by over 3 points, and we will never have a balloon on this loan! YES! I'm so relieved I can not tell you-time to get cracking on bringing the principal down.

So anyway, the other interesting thing about today-



This is a picture of my dad's car-not his exact car but one like it. When he died in 2001 (it's eight years ago now!) my mom gave me his car; the idea was to sell it and use the money to pay off my own at the time (the buggy)



We had a little trouble selling the car because it was a five-speed (never good for resale value) and it needed a clutch in the worst way-you had to slam your left foot to the floor to shift gears. Well of course we finally sold it to someone in Pleasantville, right over the bridge on the mainland. Over the years both Mark and I have seen it riding around P'ville.

Driving around the mainland today I saw two of them-I don't know if either one was my dad's but there are at least two of the second generation (1987-1993?) Camrys still driving around out there-pretty amazing!

I always think of my dad when I see the car, of course, but today his presence was clearer and stronger than it's been for a long time. My mother used to joke that he was the Energizer bunny. We never talked about it in so many words but we all (well maybe my brother was in denial for most of the time he was sick) knew that Al lived for five or six years longer than the doctors thought he would. And not in a bed or a wheelchair, but with an amazing quality of life; going on trips with my mom, Phillies games with me, and participating in the local political scene he loved so much.

1961



1991




Thanks Dad. I love you.