By Karen McNew
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: April 29, 2008

I have never been very particular about my car being spotless inside and out… as I get older I am better about the inside… I don’t let trash, old soda cans, gym clothes etc pile up in my backseat floor like I used to… and now I am starting to pay more attention to the outside too but with the weather we have been having it is hard to decide when to get the car washed… all you get are a couple of days to enjoy the shine on the wheels and the rest of the car and then a sprinkle or full blown rain comes along and it looks as bad as it did before…

I am not complaining about the rain because I know we need it but a while back as I was at a gas station filling up… the clerk from inside was standing outside just getting some fresh air… bored I guess… he walked over to my dirty car and said… someone like you shouldn’t have a car this dirty as he wiped his finger through the dust… leftover salt from a storm or whatever it was coating the outside of my car… I thought to myself.. What does he mean someone like me?  I was a little embarrassed and quipped that the weather had been so tricky I hadn’t had a chance to wash it and that it probably wouldn’t do much good anyway… he looked at me as if the words I was saying were impossible to comprehend.. I just let it go and agreed with him in order to proceed with my business and head back to work…

There are some people who would wash their car everyday if they could… maybe some do… in some way shape or form they seem to be… at least a little defined by the shine and shimmer of their newly cleaned vehicle…

I’m not judging.. there are plenty of people who probably think I am a little silly for logging more than 20 miles a week running because I like it and the way it makes me feel… and for keeping a calorie diary…

I’m not sure what my car’s cleanliness says about me- perhaps the inside says I have grown up a bit since the college days of tossing things into the back… the outside just means I get my car washed when I have the time and when we aren’t calling for rain that day… but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a bit of satisfaction as I am leaving the car wash…