The Anderson Vehicle Tradition

The Anderson household in the U.S. has long been notorious for the large number of cars that always seem to be parked there. We have been known to collectively have up to 9 cars residing in the driveway, on the street and even on the lawn. I know what you're thinking... no we're not hicks. At least we don't think so.

I personally have a long history of crappy cars. I have driven some amazing machines in my day, and have had more mechanical failures than I can count. (A few "fond" memories that immediately come to mind include: a blown coolant hose in the middle of Canada on a 16 hour trek to college, a radiator as a (much desired) birthday gift from my Mother and Father in law, and attempting to repair a brake line for three days in a Walgreens parking lot. The list goes on...)

We've decided that it's only appropriate to continue these trends here in Taiwan...

We have a red Honda Civic, leased to us by a friend named Donald. It has been our (semi) trusty steed since last September. We've put many kilometers on it during our travels around Taiwan. We have grown to love and cherish her. Unfortunately, several weeks ago, we noticed that when we turned the key, she wasn't roaring to life in the usual fashion, but instead, struggling to start. The problem increased over the course of a week or two until one morning, she wouldn't start at all, but only make that dreaded clicking sound that tells you, "Crap! My battery is dead!" A friend gave us a jump and were able to drive it around for a few more days until the problem repeated itself. Feeling somewhat stranded we wondered what to do. God saw our dilemma and provided a solution: A couple of our friends were returning to the U.S. and were willing to lend us their car.

For a week or so, we were feeling fashionable in our newly acquired Honda Civic hatchback with the flashy grey paint job (also owned by Donald). Sure it lacked a few amenities, such as a functioning defroster/defogger, but hey, it drove. We were once again happy and free. Until... the passenger side window somehow came off its track and got stuck half way down. Now if we were in the middle of the desert this would be no problem, but this is the rainy season in a sub-tropical climate. It rains constantly. So I, considering myself to be a pretty handy guy, took it upon myself to try to fix it. I asked Heather to push the "roll the window up" button while I pulled upwards on the glass. It was jammed in there tightly, so I increased the upward pressure until, CRACK! The glass shattered into a million pieces in my hands. (Don't worry, it was safety glass - I did not sustain any life threatening injuries.) Nooooo ! 2 cars down.

God blessed Donald with both a large collection of cars and a large dose of generosity. He was graciously willing to lend us a third car - a green Honda Accord. (Apparently he has a thing for Hondas.) So we are once again driving in style. As I was looking at our yard today, the sight of so many cars reminded me of a used car lot, which reminded me of home.



Ahh, home sweet home. We'll be arriving in one week!