Car Talk Confessions

From: Bob Porter

I once had an appointment to have lunch with a top executive at a big company. I was to meet him at his office, but I didn't want him to see the miserable heap I was driving, so I parked it a block away and walked to the fancy office building, where we met in the lobby. Assuming he would drive, I walked with him back out to the sidewalk, where we sauntered up to a really nice looking and obviously expensive late model sedan.

After we stood there talking a while, he suggested we get going so we could make our reservation at the restaurant. I agreed, but neither of us moved. Finally he asked, "Aren't you going to drive?" And I said I thought HE was going to drive. "Oh," he said, "but isn't this your car?" When I said no, I thought it was HIS car, he said, "Oh no, my car is over there." He pointed to a heap down the block that looked nearly as bad as my own. "I take a lot of kidding about that beater," he said, "so I was hoping you would have fancier wheels."

When I told him I was so embarrassed by my heap that I parked it on the next block, we both had a great laugh and a breezy ride to the restaurant in his car with windows that didn't quite roll all the way up.