A Luminator Moment

By Terri Ferran

My name is Terri Ferran and my first novel, Finding Faith was recently published with Cedar Fort. I’m excited to be part of this blogspot. My contributions will hopefully make you feel a little better (even if it’s just to say “Better her than me!”).

I currently drive a 1999 Chevy Lumina which I like to refer to as “my husband’s dead grandma’s car”—which is absolutely true. I try to use just a touch of self-pity in my voice to make sure he doesn’t forget that while he drives a 2001 Jaguar XJR (“R” means super-charged, which he didn’t tell me until after we bought it!) that I am driving the Luminator.

The Luminator is a nice reliable car which has a dent in the front right fender (from my husband’s dead grandpa before he passed on) and a broken driver’s side rear view mirror (which my son did backing out of the garage and which he promised to pay for although he has since relocated to Florida). It is a car I can depend on. Sometimes while I am driving I can imagine Grandma Litster encouraging me to stop at a convenience store for goodies (I always listen to those promptings).

Yesterday as I pulled into the cul-de-sac, I stopped to say hello to a neighbor. When I tried to drive off, I automatically checked the gear shift lever to see if I was in Park or Drive. As I grabbed the gear shift lever the entire lever came off in my hand! Not just the knob, the entire lever. I was stuck in eternal Drive! It was a good thing I still wanted to go forward.

I noticed a little pin had come loose from the shaft that held the lever in place. I had to work on it a few minutes and get my hands greasy, but I was able to get the lever back where it belonged and could “Park” in my garage.

I reflected on how fortunate I was to have it happen close to home and to be heading in the direction I wanted to go when it happened. I thought about all the times in life when I’ve been moving forward, and a major “lever” falls off in my life.

The times I’ve been going in the right direction already haven’t been too big a deal. The times it’s happened and I’ve wanted to say “Whoa! Back up, let’s change direction!” have been a little tougher. It’s easy to adjust and change our direction when everything is working as it should; but we’ve all had times when things fall apart and we wish we could change the path we took.

It isn’t hopeless, though. A little analysis, concentration, prayer, and some work, can put things back together again. And it helps if we’re close to home when things fall apart.

I made sure to tell my husband about the Luminator losing its parts. He offered to fix it but I had it handled. I prefer to use it in my secret battle to upgrade my ride. I’m holding out for a 2009 Camaro (think Bumblebee from the Transformers—only silver). I think I can get a lot of mileage out of the situation!