My phone’s ringing, as I’m reading Bill Hudson’s “Broadband Band Wagon” article, the first article in his new Daily Post editorial series, this week.
The call I’m getting is about an old car of ours.
New vehicles have so many bells and whistles, a whole lot of technology, and all. And that’s probably pretty neat, but this old car we’ve had for a couple of decades, now, we just know it, so well. And I’m not the greatest at technology – our son’s much better at it – but we all don’t mind the simplicity of the old car. And it’s old character.
Bill mentions writing his broadband editorial from the front porch of his 121-year-old home. That’s cool.
Anyway… our car was the victim of someone, or maybe several people, who committed a crime that’s becoming rampant in California, and elsewhere, throughout the country. They made off with our car’s catalytic converter. There’s some kind of metal – or metals – in the converters that’s processed and sold for substantial sums of money.
Having a catalytic converter replaced can cost a pretty penny.
The good news, in the call coming in from our insurance provider, was that our car is repairable. It’ll be up-and-running in a couple of days.
What’s cool about an old car, or an old house, is all there is about them. The memories of places you’ve been, traveling in the car. Our home, at 44 years of age, doesn’t have the history of Bill Hudson’s home, but, out here in California, a 44-year-old place is considered fairly old.
These new cars, now, with bells and whistles. I have nothing against them. New vehicles have their internet connections, their touch screens, their keyless entry — they can even talk to you — and all the safety features really are something!
They certainly do have a lot about them, even though what they’ve got is just different, in some ways, from older things.
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.