Comments on: Bye Green Car

By: Down the Up Ramp: On seeing things differently

Down the Up Ramp: On seeing things differently — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:08:16 +0000

[...] figured that Charlie would be hesitant about the rental car. Since we said good bye to the green car last January, it’s been black car full time and we spend a good amount of time in the car [...]

By: A Special Find

A Special Find — Sat, 31 May 2008 05:08:40 +0000

[...] There was a double futon that Jim and I bought before Charlie was born at a store in Kirkwood, Missouri. Like a good number of our possessions, the futon made the trip from that apartment to a rental house in University City (near the Delmar Loop in St. Louis). Then it was moved by Red Ball movers up to the second floor of a lovely duplex in St. Paul, Minnesota (the Merriam Park neighborhood, if you know St. Paul). Then it went (this time the movers were Allied) back to Missouri, to a tiny suburb next to Kirkwood called Glendale. And then (via movers whose name I can’t remember) it went east to central Jersey and then northwards to a town not so far from New York and then we went back out to the deeper Jersey suburbs again…… So this futon and its frame have had a bit of an odyssey, just like our faithful green car. [...]

By: It’s Not So Hard to Be Green

It’s Not So Hard to Be Green — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:22:58 +0000

[...] the grocery store yesterday, with a canvas bag; Jim walk-runs to the train) and we’re down to one car (and you can check your walkscore—-how far you have to walk to get to things from where you [...]

By: $6200 Less a Year

$6200 Less a Year — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:45:37 +0000

[...] program in part because of the cost (it was like paying a second rent) and we’ve downsized to one car.And then there are the “surprise” costs from emergency plumber visits for reasons [...]

By: Jordan Sadler, SLP

Jordan Sadler, SLP — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 03:03:07 +0000

This is a lovely piece of writing! It also made me sad for the day when we will eventually give up our own green Subaru station wagon, which actually continues to be our one and only car and is in great shape (it’s a 2000) but wasn’t driven across country even once! And yes, those Priuses certainly are ubiquitous in the Bay Area – it’s unbelievable. My parents live there and own one, of course. We like to refer to the SNL skit that calls it the Pious. Super fun to drive, though, let me tell you!

By: Kirkwood, Missouri

Kirkwood, Missouri — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:10:21 +0000

[...] the first time, at Keysor Elementary School, also in Kirkwood. In late May of 2001 we packed up the green car and took highway 40 and started driving, past the Arch and through souther Illinois, across Indiana [...]

By: M'sDad

M'sDad — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:09:03 +0000

Kristina – the back seat is surprisingly roomy, I think (no less than a Corolla, if memory serves from when I was shopping for the replacement for my own 180K mile 1983 Corolla SW when I got the Scion in May 04) — you might also look into the xB which has more of a “SUV/wagon-y” body, on the same car frame, and looks plenty funky (it’s being marketed to the hip-hop crowd, for goodness’ sake, which is pretty amusing to this fuddy-duddy hip-wannabe professor).

In any case, it’s inexpensive, reliable (Consumer Reports really likes the xB; not the xA, which is puzzling to me because it’s basically the same car), and unusual while still being a Toyota. Definitely worth a look-see, I’d say. But of course I’m biased.

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 06:10:34 +0000

@Marla, Charlie not being one for writing, no “graffiti” on our back seat—yet!

@Misha, Jim well remembers the Subaru salesman who turned the radio onto Frank Zappa and talked about American history with Jim—-I can still see the lake and the mention of Vadnais Heights…..memories……we lived in St. Paul right next to Macalester College; I taught at the University of St. Thomas and got to know Summit, Portland, and Grand Avenue very well—lots of walks with Charlie (still in a stroller then).

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:56:50 +0000

@M’s dad—-what do you think about the size of the Scion’s backseat for a growing 10 1/2 year old boy with size 6 1/2 feet?

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:12:09 +0000

The mechanic to whom we sold the green car told us, forget about the Prius—-said it’s overrated (I am unable to explain why, but he also gave us the sense we might as well just buy a Toyota Corolla for almost the same mileage). Out in the Bay Area in December, it did seem like Priuses (sp?) were ubiquitous. Charlie’s preference would be for something roomy (minivan) but not for me! (With apologies to all my minivan-driving friends)