Riding Along In My Automobile

         

          As I was walking past one of the local automobile yards here, I noted their new shipment of cars lined up in neat rows, each identical to the other both in color and style.  Row after row after row.

          Although these cute little cars were Fiats, it reminded me of the time I was dating a young man whose pride and joy was a Volkswagen Beetle.  That particular make of car was very popular with young people in Australia in the 70’s and 80’s.  On any given day Volkswagen bugs…almost always white…lined streets and packed parking lots.

          My boyfriend loved his Bug and thought it even more special because his was black.  An unusual color for a Bug at that time and the only black Bug I’d seen anywhere in the city.

          So it was on a beautiful Saturday morning that Tom and I decided to spend a lovely day at the beach soaking up the rays and perhaps catching a few waves.  At the time I lived in a beach suburb which became extremely busy with an influx of sun worshippers from inner city areas on any given weekend.

          And, on that particular day, prior to descending onto the sand, I needed to make a quick stop to pick up some dry cleaning before the store closed.  Not a problem.  But, since every available parking space along the road was taken, Tom decided to double park outside the dry cleaning establishment while I made a quick dash inside.  I was gone no more than two minutes.

          With my dry cleaning slung over my arm, I ran to Tom’s car, jumped in and said: ‘Okay, let’s hit the beach.’

          ‘That would be great…but, I think my wife has other plans for us this morning.’

          My head swiveled toward the unknown voice and I stared wide-eyed into a pair of blue eyes I’d never seen before.

          How was it possible that a complete stranger had a car exactly identical to Tom’s Bug?  And how in this strange world did it come about that said stranger double-parked his black Bug in exactly the same spot Tom had been only minutes before?

          Who can answer the mysterious questions of the universe?  All I know is, I felt like a complete twit, as I incoherently mumbled umms and ahhhs and then brilliantly asked: ‘Where’s my boyfriend?’

          ‘Don’t know sweetheart.’  He pointed past my head and toward the open window.  ‘But that’s my wife coming down the street now,’ he grinned.

          With a multitude of ‘I’m sorry’s,’ tumbling out of my mouth, I backed out of his car and, standing on the sidewalk, searched frantically for Tom.  There he was, parked against the kerb, four car lengths away, leaning up against the door of his Bug, looking in my direction and laughing his head off!

          As I stormed up to him, dry cleaning flapping in the wind, he was nearly doubled over chortling about the hysterically amusing sight he’d just witnessed. 

          When I queried why he hadn’t indicated to me the change in his parking status he just gaffawed some more and told me he didn’t know the semaphore signal for ‘over here dingaling.’ 

          Needless to say, although we still made it to the beach, Tom’s further days as my boyfriend were numbered in the single digits.  Dingaling indeed!