My two scooters

When spring rolled around, and gas hit $3.50 a gallon, I decided to buy a gas-saving scooter. (100 mpg is hard to pass up when your four wheeled vehicle only gets 22.) So I did the sensible thing and researched. Size, brand, price, overall stylishness, ease of use and maintenance needs all went into my decision to buy the Twist 'n Go Milano in a minty green that reminds me of Mojitos. I named him Paco. He's sweet and reliable and when I ask him to haul me to Beaverton and back he responds with a jaunty "OK boss!"
But then I started thinking...
If Paco had gears he'd be zippier. If he were a Vespa he'd be more stylish. If he had a metal body he might trigger a light to change once in a while. Well, probably not that last one but a girl can dream. So I started combing Craigslist for a Bajaj. It's beautiful. Jade green, chrome edging, and gears - glorious gears. I named him Hadji. You know, after Johnny Quest's best friend who occasionally does magic. My plan is to sell Paco because I don't need two scooters AND a motorcycle. And a Jeep. And the motorcycle that's already up for sale. And a bicycle. (Soon I'll be standing up in a smoky church basement saying, "Hi. My name is Leela and I'm addicted to vehicles." No, Leela isn't my real name but if I gave my real name it wouldn't exactly be anonymous, would it?)
Friday I took Hadji down to the Bajaj dealer to make an appointment for his first check-up. Tim at Columbia Scooter pulled up his service records and filled me in on his background. Nothing surprising, but it was time for service. I made the appointment then Tim wanted to take a look at the damage the previous owner did to it while trying to figure out the clutch so we went out to the parking lot and I pointed out the scratches and paint dings. He then checked Hadji's oil and jiggled the shifter. Oh no. The shifter was pronounced "sloppy". Not to worry, it's probably OK until the service appointment but I should be aware that not OK means not shifting. While riding around in the sun today the shifter slid further into the territory of "not OK".
And that's when it hit me. My two scooters are easily a metaphor for my relationships with men. Were I craftier I could spin it into a schmaltzy novel that would probably sell millions of copies only to finally be made into a boring but beautiful movie directed by either Clint Eastwood or Robert Redford.
Damn, I've gotten sidetracked again. Where was I? Oh, yeah. The scooters as a metaphor.
Paco is reliable, mostly cute, non-offensive, and will take all the abuse I can dish out without complaining. He's great, but I don't really want him. Hadji, on the other hand, is sexy, temperamental, and virtually guarantees that I will spend long afternoons fine-tuning and fixing because deep down he's fundamentally broken... I must have him.
Even in scooters I pick the wrong men.