Sometimes life adds an adventure I didn’t anticipate and I’ve learned to listen up … to that voice inside that says, “Maybe this direction is a gift.” I heard the voice say that but, still, after an hour in line for my reserved car I could hear they were out of fuel cars and everyone in the remaining line (which was still long) had the right to cancel their reservation or drive a Tesla. I had been in a Tesla in a showroom once in 2020 and my impression of it had been good. I needed a car and canceling just to try finding another one wasn’t appealing that late in the day. I accepted the gift.
My family and I got to the parking garage in what appeared to be a zombie apocalypse full of Teslas and adults trying to find some help. Most were confused. We quickly chose the one red one and loaded our bags. Once in the driver’s seat, I noticed the charge was 58%; that wasn’t going to work because we had nearly three hours to drive. We checked another car and then another. To my surprise, the cars had various charges. I checked a white car and a two black ones. We settled into a blue one. My youngest son was with me and to the bewildered customers trying to free-range choose their Teslas, my son being the youngest adult amongst us became the coterie appointed expert. One man had his Tesla started but the air conditioning was blowing out full heat on high and he wanted to know how to bluetooth his phone into the stereo and navigation systems. We helped others where we could and checked to make sure all the cords were in the trunk of the blue car before driving down the parking garage ramp to exit.
At the gate I was required to have some paperwork I had inadvertently left in one of the other cars – probably the red one. I walked back up to check and the red car was gone, .. of course. I was relieved I didn’t have to go back inside the airport to the hour long line. I needed the paperwork and something else from the blue car. I was told at the garage office I could drive the car back up the ramp. I said, “The ramp has signs posting it is one way – DO NOT ENTER. The woman at the desk said, “It’s okay, people do it all the time.” I was about two hours in at this point. On the short distance back to the blue car, I was walking past the collection of Teslas and there, I saw it, another red one. It was charged at 78%. The new attendant said he would hold it for me. Cautiously, I drove the blue car up the clearly posted garage ramp cautioning I was driving the wrong way on a one way. Got past that and I returned to both the attendant and the red car he said he would be holding for me having both disappeared.
For a moment, I stood there in the quiet parking garage. I stood there for a moment and balanced my collection of senses inside and out. There were a half dozen new customers, now, going from car to car checking the charges, I suspect. People were still asking us for help. We were the upperclassmen, at this point, so we obliged. Another attendant appeared out of nowhere; he asked if he could help. I quietly said, “Yes, I would like a red car and I need it to be charged at least 80%.” I told him what had happened. He responded cheerfully, “Okay, I’m going to make that happen.” I wasn’t upset I just clearly stated what I wanted. At 53, I’ve spent too much of my life not giving voice to that. It wasn’t tangibly important to have a red car that night but I couldn’t deny it is what I wanted. Why? Maybe it was Christmas. These last two seasons I have been all about the holiday sights, scents and sounds. I decided on a whim to concisely and clearly state what I wanted.
It was easy from there. It took about three hours to get a previously reserved car but we were happy. We stopped to get a snack and decided to do that near the Tesla charging station to top off the numbers, just in case. It’s good we did. We thought long and hard about the miles we were using, that everything in the car runs on that one charge. Going up a hill takes a little extra battery. We had a plan in place. There weren’t a lot of miles remaining in this charge once we arrived at our Christmas destination; let’s just say it was the same number as my soccer number. We did the math, I expected to make it, but I knew it wouldn’t be by much.
Last topic, the learning curve. It’s a beautiful car. It’s striking in it’s appearance externally but even moreso internally. As a contemporary painter, I adore the clean lines and light bath that circulates from multiple rooftop windows. The seat warmers are incredible on a cold night and the field of vision from which I could see in the darkness was reliable and vast. Like changing from PC to Apple its ways were different and required some learning of its controls. When not accelerating it immediately feels like braking. At an intersection and waiting for a light I was trying to find the windshield wipers and accidentally put the Tesla in reverse. That was by far the most startling of the learning curve, the point at which in the intersection I thought I would be going forward and the opposite happened.
Holiday travel, it could be anything. I’ve learned to let things play out before I add my opinion. I Ioved having the red Tesla, the Christmas car. I learned a lot. Most of all I learned that if you just stay with things they will usually work out. There’s plenty in this year I feel apprehensive about, maybe you do also. What I’m aiming for is to see life’s changes unfolding as gifts regardless of if I understand them or not.
Best wishes to you and yours this 2024,
c.s.
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