Eagle Motors

So remember how the family car doesn't have good radio reception, and thus I constantly sing to myself? Well, last week when getting winter tires--because we'll need them in the Swiss (freakin') Alps--we found out that it is because the antenna was bad. So we made an appointment to get it fixed...

...And today was that day! The day when I was going to get a new antenna! The day that the music would come back to life! The day that I was going to ride around and still sing at the top of my lungs but to actual music!!!

...Or so I thought.

This morning, after braving the worst freakin' traffic ever to school, dropping the kids off, and then battling even more traffic back to Assen, I drove to Jaap Dik to drop the van off. It was about 9 a.m. in the morning. As soon as I walked in, they knew me. I'm pretty sure they loathe me (and that is how they always know me). I am the American girl living in the Netherlands who can't drive a stick-shift. And they never have an automatic replacement car for me to drive while ours in in the shop. Therefore, they drive me home and then pick me back up. ...I'm almost certain that is not common routine.

Anywho, I dropped the car off as usual to get it's brand spankin' new, station-receiving antenna. And then I got my ride back to the Houtlaan. Like I mentioned before, that was at 9 in the morning.

So all morning, I busied myself with things around the house. I had a million things I needed to do in the city, but since I was car-less, I was forced to postpone them. I was so productive around the house today that I didn't even take my usual nap! ...And if you know me, that is saying something!! So I worked, worked, worked til about 2. That is point when I only had a half hour left before leaving to get the kids...

2 o'clock is also the time that the car has always been ready in the past. For routine maintenance: 2 o'clock. For winter tires: 2 o'clock. For a new antenna: 2 o'clock?? Right? I just assumed that there was always an understandment between Esther and the dealership about when the family car was needed during the week...

...But you know what assuming does.

So finally at a quarter past, I could wait no longer. So I called ole Jaap Dik. And I was the ass (for assuming). After a brief conversation, I was told the car would not be ready til 5.

Serisously?! How long does it take to change an antenna?!

Luckily--and I cannot stress that enough--Stefan, the father, had come home an hour or so earlier and was able to drive me to Groningen to pick up Sarah. (Ian was going to a playdate with a friend.) So all was well...

...Until 5 o'clock. (Or 4:30 p.m. to be more exact)...

About the time I was starting on supper, I got a call from Jaap Dik. Apparently, the car would not be fixed until tomorrow at noon. Once again, how long does it really take to fix an antenna?! I had no idea what to do. I was car-less... With a kid to go retrieve in half an hour... And then multiple kids to take to school the next morning!

My talking to the man at the dealership solved nothing. It only reaffirmed that I was S.O.L. I was told: 1) The car was not ready. 2) There was no way for me to pick it up now because it was "in pieces". 3) They had no automatics for me to drive. At that point, I was frantic. So Stefan stepped in and took the phone. Phew! And after his brief chat with the dealership, Jaap Dik magically had an automatic for me to drive! ...Go figure.

(See, that is why you always need a persistent, assertive man around!)

So finally, at 5:30 p.m., I had a replacement car to drive. If I had to describe this vehicle in three words, I'd say: "Tom Harrison special"*.
*For those of you who do not have the pleasure of knowing my father, you won't understand that reference, so see below for further details.

Upon giving us the keys to the vehicle, the man at Jaap Dik talked to Stefan (in Dutch) for a good ten minutes about the car. Though I couldn't understand exactly what was being said, I could tell by the man's tone and hand gestures--more specifically, tapping underneath the bumper-- that he was cautioning us of all that car's conditions. For example, the gas gauge. He just put some gas in it but the hand was on empty. If this car doesn't scream "Eagle Motors"*, then I don't know what does!
*Once again, that is a reference to the great Tom Harrison and his car business.

So I now have a car full of kinks, but a car nonetheless. And to be completely honest, I kind of love it in all it's imperfect glory. It is closest thing to home I have experience here yet! Not to mention that it is nice to seat behind the steering wheel or a car that actually has less buttons and levers than an airplane!