The little Rover That Could - Chapter 2
#1
07-13-2014, 09:35 PM
The little Rover That Could - Chapter 2
One would have thought that I’d travel back the way I had come seeing as the Rover was in reverse. I didn’t want to. I had traveled too far down the track to turn back now. I wanted to explore, I wanted to find out what was at the end of that road with or without a compass. I wanted to experience the thrill of what my Rover could and could not do. It occurred to me that some men may not agree with a woman guiding herself down a rugged road. A road with pits, washed out shoulders, sharp inclines & declines. I may have lost my bearings, and perhaps my mind, but I wasn’t a quitter and I wouldn’t lose my way. I was too strong for that and I had the ability.
I wish I hadn’t made a fool of myself along the journey. It was painful to think of, I had always prided myself in keeping my cool, being civil and in control.The man at the local service shop had forewarned me of the perils and pitfalls of Rover ownership. I thought if I owned a Rover I would be able to go anywhere; that’s what the bumper sticker states on the back of my Landy. ‘You can go fast, but I can go anywhere’. He warned me of owning a Rover, how they were mainly for hobbyists, how they were a PITA and needed constant tinkering and care. Was I up for the challenge? Did I know what coolant smelled like? Have I heard of a slipped liner? Did I pay attention to lights on my dash? I felt my intelligence being insulted and I didn’t like it one bit.
And that is where the fool part came in and when I over-reacted. Women. I’ll be the first to admit that they have the ability to do things for themselves but they also have the ability to be touchy creatures when ‘provoked’. I told the friendly local service shop mechanic that I was quite capable of handling this Rover on my own, that I wasn’t above fixing it myself, that I was a strong woman with a strong mind and didn’t like the implications that he didn’t think I could do it myself. I threw his map back into his face and headed out on a route of my own. And this is where I found myself. Sitting at a fork in the road, next to a lake with one lonely fish jumping in and out, in and out, creating ripples in the still body of water next to a dark canopied dirt two-track road out in the middle of BFE.
And there’s something about BFE that makes a human reflect.There’s a lot of thinking time when you’re out there alone, driving in your Rover. The views are beautiful, the landscape pristine, but the mind starts ‘a’thinkin’. Something that I’ve been doing a lot of lately.
I’ve learned a lot about myself, life and my Rover in the past eight months. I now know that nothing last forever and that includes tires, light bulbs, seat covers, window motors, brake boots, seals, gaskets, dreams, wishes, friendships, motor oil, transmission fluid, water pumps, fan clutches, u-joints, and more. I learned that I can be passive aggressive, that I’m passionate about many things and stubborn as well. And that I'm snarly when stressed. I learned that even though you want to believe the best in everyone and everything, sometimes you just have to let go and let it be. That not everyone is going to be your friend, everyone isn’t going to ‘like’ you in life (or on the forum) and the sooner you learn it the better off you’re going to be. And that can be a hard pill to swallow as I think everybody wants to be accepted for who they are. Isn’t that the most important thing in life? To love and be loved?
As I turn the fork in the road and travel the left lane I’m going to keep my mind open. I won’t know what that path may hold until I get there and that is ok by me as I realize that life is about the journey and not the destination. I may find myself traveling a slow Rover to China but I know that I will get there in the end. One tire rotation at a time.
I wish I hadn’t made a fool of myself along the journey. It was painful to think of, I had always prided myself in keeping my cool, being civil and in control.The man at the local service shop had forewarned me of the perils and pitfalls of Rover ownership. I thought if I owned a Rover I would be able to go anywhere; that’s what the bumper sticker states on the back of my Landy. ‘You can go fast, but I can go anywhere’. He warned me of owning a Rover, how they were mainly for hobbyists, how they were a PITA and needed constant tinkering and care. Was I up for the challenge? Did I know what coolant smelled like? Have I heard of a slipped liner? Did I pay attention to lights on my dash? I felt my intelligence being insulted and I didn’t like it one bit.
And that is where the fool part came in and when I over-reacted. Women. I’ll be the first to admit that they have the ability to do things for themselves but they also have the ability to be touchy creatures when ‘provoked’. I told the friendly local service shop mechanic that I was quite capable of handling this Rover on my own, that I wasn’t above fixing it myself, that I was a strong woman with a strong mind and didn’t like the implications that he didn’t think I could do it myself. I threw his map back into his face and headed out on a route of my own. And this is where I found myself. Sitting at a fork in the road, next to a lake with one lonely fish jumping in and out, in and out, creating ripples in the still body of water next to a dark canopied dirt two-track road out in the middle of BFE.
And there’s something about BFE that makes a human reflect.There’s a lot of thinking time when you’re out there alone, driving in your Rover. The views are beautiful, the landscape pristine, but the mind starts ‘a’thinkin’. Something that I’ve been doing a lot of lately.
I’ve learned a lot about myself, life and my Rover in the past eight months. I now know that nothing last forever and that includes tires, light bulbs, seat covers, window motors, brake boots, seals, gaskets, dreams, wishes, friendships, motor oil, transmission fluid, water pumps, fan clutches, u-joints, and more. I learned that I can be passive aggressive, that I’m passionate about many things and stubborn as well. And that I'm snarly when stressed. I learned that even though you want to believe the best in everyone and everything, sometimes you just have to let go and let it be. That not everyone is going to be your friend, everyone isn’t going to ‘like’ you in life (or on the forum) and the sooner you learn it the better off you’re going to be. And that can be a hard pill to swallow as I think everybody wants to be accepted for who they are. Isn’t that the most important thing in life? To love and be loved?
As I turn the fork in the road and travel the left lane I’m going to keep my mind open. I won’t know what that path may hold until I get there and that is ok by me as I realize that life is about the journey and not the destination. I may find myself traveling a slow Rover to China but I know that I will get there in the end. One tire rotation at a time.
Last edited by landlover_1; 07-13-2014 at 09:42 PM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
dinandan
General Range Rover Discussion - Archived
0
07-04-2006 10:43 AM
dinandan
Modifications
1
06-22-2006 07:22 PM