German Ingenuity

All of this talk about German lagers, I mean German football, reminded me of a little story I wanted to share about my latest encounter with German engineering. Two weeks ago Natalie and I decided to spend some of our remaining Christmas money. (Yes, I know it was April at the time!) For quite a while we have dreamed of having a grill, but have never been ready to go out and make the purchase. When the snow finally started to melt and the ground started to reappear, we started craving a little outdoor cooking. In the past, I have been able to hold off the temptation as a fleeting fancy. This time around, the grilled barbeque chicken, roasted jalapeno-lime corn, and a medium New York Strip would not be thwarted. My imagination was working over my taste buds and I couldn't escape the succulent flavors that held my mind captive.

So, off to the Home Depot.... Natalie and I headed over after work on a Friday night to check out our options. Charcoal and propane, Weber and Char-Broil, what were we to do? Well, I'll tell you what we were to do... BUY ONE! So, we grabbed an orange flatbed cart, lugged on an oversized cardboard box, and left that evening the proud owners of a new Char-Broil grill (some assembly required!)

Now, all was well, life was good, grilled food was coming, until we hit the parking lot.... We were in my Saturn, a fairly good sized four-door sedan. Trunk? No luck. Back seat? No luck. Strapped to the top? No straps. Plans thwarted. Frustration-o-meter quickly rising. Natalie... pondering.

While I am trying to figure out who owns a truck or an SUV that I could call on a Friday night, Natalie's mind was on Zippy. Back in our garage sat a New Beetle. I scoffed at the idea of Herbie's cousin saving the day, but she didn't hesitate. Natalie jumped in the finely engineered GM product and headed to 2521 to bring Zippy.

German engineering, German ingenuity. Zippy whipped into the parking lot ready to meet her next challenge. (She already forced my Thunderbird to retire from road service when the snow hit in the winter of 04-05. She is, after all, the "Road Warrior") After dropping the back seat, the oversized cardboard box slid gracefully into Zippy. Zippy saved the day.