When you need to haul around a 6-foot-tall harp...

...you're kinda limited in what you can drive. Last week, my trusty old 1996 Ford Explorer gave me her absolute last. She carried me and various harps to countless weddings, receptions, concerts, open houses, music festivals and other gigs over 10 years and 90,000 miles. She's been paid off for over 6 years. I'd gotten used to and grown to love her quirks — touchy starter, flashing 4-wheel-drive lights (even when she wasn't in 4-wheel-drive), brakes that needed a good stomping to stop, air conditioner than only worked on max and high fan, and all the various squeaks and chirps and thunks she made while we cruised down the road.

When I got the news that her rear suspension wasn't...um..."suspended" anymore (so THAT's why she was thunking around corners), I cried. Then I called my Dad, and we went truck shopping. I must have lifted the concert harp into every single SUV and crossover vehicle in town to see if it would fit while my Dad talked up the sales guys. Every single salesman stood by and remarked on my biceps (which, after loading and unloading the harp, which weights 170 pounds on the cart, were pretty defined). By the time we finally found a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer at Mankato Motors with the help of J.P., and the harp slid right in with room to spare for the bench, the music stand, the gig bag, my CD boxes and Mom The Roadie, I was so relieved. I signed the papers the next day. I gave J.P. a jaw harp as a thank you gift.

So, goodbye little Ford Explorer...

...and hello car payments.

(One extra gig a month would cover the payments - get planning and give me a call!)