It's a Jeep thing... you wouldn't understand..

or would you?

I remember before I bought my first Jeep.  I think I had seen one and thought it was just beyond cool.  I bought one, brand new.  It was a 1990.  Black.  Shiny. Hard top.   I couldn't wait to get the top off that sucker and just drive...

That November (the day after Thanksgiving as a matter of fact) I was hit almost head on by a drunk driver.  I was furious.  Furious that my friend was hurt, that my knees were junk from that point forward, but furious that he.  Killed.  My.  JEEP.  Totaled it.  

A week later?  I bought a 1991.  Brand new.  Black.  Shiny. Hard top.  And again, couldn't wait to get the top off that sucker and just drive....

From Memorial Day to Labor Day the top was off.  If it rained, I got wet.  Then I discovered the bikini top - it covered the front passengers.  I got one.  And really, I didn't care about the back ones.  I wasn't sitting back there.  :)

I went four wheeling in Myles Standish State Park (when you could still go in there with a 4WD)...  THAT was fun, and according to my young (at the time) cousins - better than any ride at Paragon Park.  If you're from MA - you should know both places.

I drove it in the sand dunes behind our place on the Cape.  I even took my 70-something year old grandmother 4 wheeling in it.  That was a hoot.

I was working downtown Boston at the time, and the drive was killing me.  Nothing like stop and go traffic with a 5 speed and junk knees.  

I traded it in. It was a sad day.  I still wish I'd kept it.  I knew I was wrong. 

And every spring, I'd see a Jeep and say "I want another one..."  EVERY spring.  This year? 

I did it.  It's a 99.  Not so shiny, but ohhhhhhhhhh so pretty.  Soft top.  I'm in love.

And while my friends may think I'm nuts, there is nothing like just driving with the top off, letting the wind blow back your hair.

I could just drive it for hours - not going anywhere, just cruise around.  Just because.  I know for a fact I've got at least one kid in the neighborhood that will grow up and buy one.  :) 
 
There's a Jeep wave.   Some people, usually in the 4 door ones, don't wave...   They're the ones that even though they own a Jeep, still don't get it.  They just think they're cool.

It's not just a car.  It's a feeling - It's like hearing your favorite Bruce Springsteen song, front row;  it's being in a club where everyone is cool, no matter how old or what they look like; it's wearing a baseball hat to keep the hair out of your eyes and who cares what your hair looks like anyway - you're in a Jeep.

Every morning - I smile all the way to work.  Every afternoon - I smile all the way home.  And if you're lucky, I wave.  Sometimes I do a peace sign, but usually it's the hand on top of the steering wheel, and you raise a few fingers.

Don't do it in other cars.  That's not cool.

The only other people cool enough to do that?  Harley riders.  They're bad-ass cool.  

Here's Lucy the red-headed stepchild.  Isn't she purdy?

Oh, and the newer, semi-luxury SUV?  That'll be the boys.  It's safer.  LOL