Your Indulgence?

I hear you on that. Got to be choosy with it, though. Think of it as an investment. You get one draft pick.

 

Have to admit I bought that Miata last Oct as a 2nd car , so it was an indulgence. I don’t drive my sedan anymore. I love driving it with the top down so much, it’s definitely my old man toy.

 

I bought a Chrysler 200 convertible a few years ago after I got rid of my motorcycle. Yes, it's middle-aged man toy, but it's a bunch safer than the bike.

 

A buddy of mine runs a rallycross series where they race Miatas. He absolutely loves those and owns like 10 of them.

 

I tend to find art in odd places. Illustrators grab me the most. My white whale is a copy of Moby Dick with engravings by Winslow Homer. I will get my grubby paws on a copy at some point. Will also find a good collection of Fred Russell's writing that does not look like it has ridden around in John Gannon's fanny pack for twenty years. (Actually, I have no idea if he uses a fanny-pack. It just tickled me to type that.)

 

I tell my kids they're fast from 0-60 and totally fun to drive with the short shift throws and the great handling ride. I had a 2001 Mustang GT Conv and know how the Miata differs from straight line speed. I wish I had bought one 10 yrs ago (of course didn't have the $$ and its totally a non-family car, its basically the ultimate selfish car, a solo driver car.)

 

Exactly how I look at it; I hit a biker who ran a stop sign 30 yrs ago and seeing him just fly like 50 feet in the air was horrifying and made me get rid of my Honda scooter and know I would never ride a motorcycle again (I rode them and loved that air through the hair feeling.)

 

This brings up a question I meant to post earlier. Is anyone else missing the enjoyment that comes from looking for things? I'm not talking about obsessive searches. This is more of an, "I'm in the throes of writer's block. Let me see if I can find my story outside of the house" thing.

 

Oscar- it's a great hobby, but the kind that prices you out no matter how much love you have for it.

 

I miss looking AT stuff. I've mentioned before, one of my and my wife's regular Sunday activities is/was going to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch, having a few beers, wings, street tacos, buffalo rub fries ... then walking across the parking lot to Academy Sports, walking around for about an hour just browsing. I can look at all kinds "Oooooo" and "Ahhhhh" then put it back without making a purchase because I got it out of my system. Browsing online, I can't do that and have proven more like to make purchases of crap I really don't neeeeeed, but manage to justify it.

 

This.

I'll look at something, put it back, and someone who has been following me around will say, "You don't want that?"
I shake my head. Where would I put it? What would I do with it once I got it home? A Dwight Shrute bobblehead is funny and it's oddly gratifying to know someone liked it enough to buy it and keep it in their home or office for a while. Beyond that? Meh.

If someone from another planet asked me to point them to the best places to people watch, I'd send them to thrift stores, book shops, and coffee houses.