Pet Peeve

So I think my biggest pet peeve is people in Oregon who own convertibles. Yes, I know I used to drive one and my brother still does, but I don't think either of us would've bought it on our own. There's absolutely no reason to buy one. It's nice for about 60-70 days a year, roughly 20% of the year. That means at best you get to use the primary reason you bought the car 1 out of every 5 days. Furthermore, in a wet climate, the last thing you want is a flimsy layer of fabric between you and the elements. Our convertible developed one hell of a leak, which results every winter in "Lake Lasselle" filling up in the back of the car, almost to the point that we could start stocking it with trout and charge the kids in the neighborhood $1 to cast a line.


It also kills me how people who buy convertibles in our great state understand this when they purchase their car, so they try to squeeze extra days out of their drop-top. You've all see the dumbass who's got a winter coat on, the windows up and heat cranked with the top down in 45 degree weather just because it's sunny. I always feel sorry for the poor sap who gets stuck in the backseat, because the windshield provides no protection from the elements whatsoever.

When I was a kid, JR used to invite me out to his family's beachhouse in Seaside every so often. We'd usually leave Saturday after our basketball games. His dad was a convertible owner. He'd try and squeeze every dry day he could out of that thing. Going through the coastal mountains in mid-november with the top down sitting in the backseat sweaty and wearing gym shorts is not something I'd recommend. It was miserable. The only thing that made up for it was knowing that my mom had given me $20 to spend at the arcade, and JR's dad would give us each another $20, giving us $60 to play Rampage and Double Dragon. Maybe a little Ivan Stewarts Offroad Challenge. You never know.