Mike's Semi-Rhetorical Question Gets Cosmic Answer

[Pete Kraus <Pete_Kraus@Emory.Org>]

Mike Arman asks plaintively:

> . . . Why, oh why does my car show EVERY scratch it gets
>-sometimes it seems that all I have to do is look in the car's general
>direction and there's a new crop of scratches and chips. How can I fix
>this? . . . 

Mike, this is one of life's mysteries.  Despite sometimes slavish efforts
to thwart it, it has happened to me with many cars over the years. 
Wash a non-enthusiast friend's car and watch it's pristine paint gleam in
the sun, even though said friend parks outside during hail storms and
lives next to a coal-fired generating plant.  Wash my cherished chariot,
carefully parked away from other cars in public and always garaged at
night, only to discover two new door dings, several random scratches
plus various unsightly discolorations from bird droppings.   I exaggerate
shamelessly, but you get the picture.  I came to regard it as some sort
of unfortunate personal affliction like bad teeth or a tendency to snore.  

Now I'm not so sure.  For better or worse as I age (I, too, am about to
turn 50) I've become less fastidious about the small stuff.  And you
know what?  The small stuff doesn't seem to happen as often as it used
to.  This may be one of life's strange ironies where in order to achieve
what you want (i.e. maintain a blemish-free car) you have to do the
opposite of your natural inclinations (i.e. don't sweat it).  I don't pretend
to know what's really going on.  But I think I'm happier and less
neurotic.  Both the 4KSQ and the Z28 are quite presentable (my truck
less so but it's - a truck).

Pete
Pete_Kraus@emory.org
Stone Mountain, GA
'85 4KSQ
'89 F250 4x4 diesel
'95 Z28