They say it is good to keep stretching your brain, learning and discovering new information. So, in that spirit, I had some good brain exercise last week. I went out onto the porch for my morning exercises and saw a gorgeous 2000 Monte Carlo! I was still grinning when an awesome 1993 Datsun Z zipped by the Henry Hilton. And then … my car addiction just kept coming when I saw a black 1989 Ford Mustang I know I’ve written that when/if I ever win the lottery or Publisher’s Clearing House prize, that will be my main purchase after I donate to church and family.

I was still grinning so I decided to make my Sunday Publix run on a Saturday and found even more joy as I parked the Camry. I saw a car I’d never seen before and had to walk up and ask the two young men about the Honda convertible. It was a 2006, a two-seater, and had four cylinders and a straight shift transmission. The model was an S2000. I looked it up on the internet when I got back home and it is very rare, and still costs a lot.

Part of my swimming fun involves seeing neat vehicles in the Gold Gym’s parking lot. I’m so glad I was raised working on cars, and liking them too. The FBI agent who made me ride around and ID cars after the First National Bank robbery (so he’d know I had the right make and model the bank robbers drove) asked me how I knew all those car models. I told him that I grew up in Jackson, Ga. and with not that much to do, loved when the dealerships came out with their new models every year. Of course I mentioned that my Dad was a mechanic and took me on every third road call so it came in handy to know which vehicle he had agreed to get back up and running. It isn’t as easy to identify the year of the newer models these days; they all tend to look alike.

I so enjoy seeing all the vehicles passing by my little brick ranch, but do pray that we’ll all stay safe from them. So far I have only seen a few mild collisions, thank goodness. I’m glad when I spot a police car sitting down the road which does help slow down the traffic.

I called my son Ron about a future appointment so he wouldn’t swing by that morning and of course I had to tell him about the S2000 Honda convertible. We talked about how good it is to keep learning so he taught me another car fact. It turns out that Canada produced a 1965 Chevelle, called a Beaumont. I had never heard of that car either and it did look a lot like my 1965 Chevelle with the 283 engine. I’m very glad we have the internet where I can find so much information, including neat pictures of vehicles. I wanted to see where my other twin Don had moved to, so I just typed in the address and their current home appeared immediately. I went ahead and searched the addresses of all my other dears and was amazed that they ALL popped up too. I found the Henry Hilton, and checked out the other homes on my street too. I guess it must be perfectly legit to take pictures of any home and post them on the internet. I think it is neat that I can look up property information on the Henry County Commissioners site. Sometimes I notice a neat house as I’m driving home from church, so I memorize the street number and then click away as soon as I’ve eaten my lunch. I am still learning and are very grateful for all of the neat websites.

Beverly Wittler has four children, eight grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. She lives in McDonough.