Farewell Blue Bomber, High Gas Costs

     Hail the size of tennis balls pounded the Town a Prosper a month ago. The storm hit just after midnight, and as we huddled in the laundry room, it sounded like an arial bombardment.
     My 8-year-old daughter still gets sketched out every time the weather calls for thunderstorms.
     In the morning, we counted 10 shattered windows on the west side of the house and total roof damage. Both of our vehicles looked like they were parked in the middle of a golfball driving range.
     The Keffers came out on top in this one, though. As you may or may not know, we are living with my wife's parents until October or November, when our new house build is finished. Any house damage from the storm was a slight inconvenience for me, but not as stressful as it was for my parents-in-law and other homeowners in Prosper.
     The upside for us is that the storm totaled "The Blue Bomber" -- a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban that had 129,000 and sucked down a gallon of gasoline every 11 or 12 miles. It's not that I did not appreciate the Bomber for years of service and good memories, but I will not miss the gasoline costs.
     Also, we were able to use the insurance money to buy a used 2001 Volkswagen Jetta with relatively low miles. This puppy gets 22 miles to the gallon.
     My 2005 Ford F-150 was not totaled, but sustained a lot of damage. The truck has been in the body shop for three weeks now, and I am so looking forward to having it back. The first thing I am going to do -- at least this is the plan -- is to put it on Craig's List to sell. I like what happened with the Suburban-Jetta swap-out, and I am now focused on eliminating another car payment and simplifying our lives with a car that I can pay cash for.
     I don't expect to find a vehicle that seats six AND gets good gas mileage, but we'll see what happens.
     I'm not sure why I am blogging about hail storms and vehicles. I guess I am just excited that we were given the opportunity to make some much-needed changes in our vehicle situation.
     I never imagined a severe hail storm would make this possible, but I'll take a good break when it comes my way.