"Hello!" the voice behind me sang out as I was leafing through the stack of checks I had just picked up at the Post Office.
I had recently been peddling a few items that I had around the house on an online auction site, I was doing pretty well at it actually.
I looked up at the sound of her greeting, here stood a reasonably attractive lady somewhere around 35-45 years old.
Momentarily confused, since I had no idea at all who she was, I responded with the same hello.
Then she struck up one of those conversations designed to make it tough to just walk away from, interjecting comments about "What a beautiful car!"
It hit me then, the car! I was driving my new z06 Corvette, and my wife Lee and I have been working on it in every spare moment, getting the finish up to show quality for a Parade and car show we have scheduled.
So "spectacular" is the correct word, the Torch Red finish looks to be 3 feet deep, there is not a speck of dirt or flaw anywhere!
There is something about these machines, too, besides the fact that they are obviously expensive. Once one is strapped in, and the hugely powerful engine roars to life, there is a feeling of raw sexual power! I can drive off and leave anything on the highway, effortlessly! Corners and turns are no problem, the unwieldy feeling of the earlier models is long gone, these are pure racing vehicles. For the faint of heart, a touch of a button and the computer takes over, controlling every aspect of the suspension. The feeling is of total control, and total power. But for a guy like me, I turn the computer off, reveling in the feeling of being "on the edge", everything up to me and my talents.
I have been approached before when driving the Corvette, somehow they don't see the balding nearly 60 year old man with reading glasses on his nose, they just see the car!
I usually just smile, enjoying the little signals that women give off to express their interest. They push out one leg, or place one hand flat on a hip, they flip their hair back. Sometimes it is just a pursing of the lips, or eyebrow raised. I watch them speak with their head turned either one way or the other, trying to display what they feel is their best profile.
This lady was doing all of that, I noticed with a smile.
I answered her questions, "Yes, it is very fast, Yes, it handles beyond anything one can imagine, yes, it can be a little loud, yes, the seats are extremely comfortable"..
Then she hit me with the right to the point question, "Can I have a ride?". I knew that was coming, I almost can't park the machine without hearing it, sometimes from guys! To be honest, I am not much in the mood to give everyone who asks a ride in it!
So I went a little to the wiseass side of my personality, and told her with my best evil grin, "The only way cute ladies get a ride in THIS car is they have to take their top off!"
Now that was SUPPOSED to turn her off, embarrass her or something, so that she would go away and leave me alone.
She hesitated for just a second, got a silly smile on her face, and said...."OK!"..