Slipstream - August 2018

A Tale of Two Boxsters
By Joann Talty
My husband had a self-imposed annual sales goal. I had
known of this goal since I met him, but assumed it would
take time. In December 2013, he reached his goal and
began a lengthy search for his reward. Night after night, he
shopped for Boxsters on Cars.com and Autotrader. After
researching IMS bearing issues in older models, he quickly
realized his dream Boxster would be newer than planned.
While he hunted, I panicked. Where will we put a
third car? Are we buying a new house with a three-car
garage too? Why a manual? Between his knee replacement
and my spinal fusion, that won’t be fun. Where will he
take this car? Does he really need a third car to run to
the golf course and Starbucks? I offered alternative
reward ideas – most of them vacation destinations.
20 August
photos provided by author
Nearly a year passed, and Pat hadn’t found his car.
He missed out on at least five cars because they weren’t
as advertised, or he called too late. When 2014 ended, he
reached his annual sales goal again, and I eased up on the
questioning. I wasn’t getting anywhere anyway. Instead, I
focused on what I do best and shared my input on cars
he considered. My color commentary clearly annoyed him.
In April 2014, he showed me a Carmona Red 2007
Boxster S, and I found it very attractive. Since turning
a corner months ago, I encouraged him to act quickly. I
applauded his patience and commitment to his budget.
He negotiated a deal on the phone, hired a mechanic for
a pre-purchase inspection, and booked a flight. Two days
later, he flew to Savannah and drove home in his brandnew
toy, so excited he forgot to pack his sunscreen and hat.
I didn’t accompany him much the first six weeks, but Pat
was lovin’ life. He showed it off to friends, lovingly handwashed
it, and gave me the coveted left side of the garage
(enabling him to park frighteningly close to the right wall to
open his door far enough.) He claimed no knee pain getting
in and out or driving. He suggested a two day road trip to
visit Texas wineries, dine on wood-fired pizza under the
stars, and play golf in Oklahoma. Who can turn that down?
Top down the entire trip, my long locks tangled within
the first hour. I learned to never wear it down. We enjoyed
curvy country roads and conversations with car guys. I
began to appreciate the Boxster and wanted to drive it.
He taught me golf -- surely he could teach me to drive
a six-speed. Instead, he suggested Sears driving school.
Soon after, we entered an empty church lot on a Sunday
afternoon. I spotted a boy in a Jeep learning parallel
parking between cones.
Perhaps he envied me
zooming about the lot,
shifting all the way up
to fourth gear. Only
once did Pat nearly
pee his pants when
I downshifted from
fourth to third and heard
a millisecond grind as I
mistakenly put it in first.
A month later, we
took a more significant
road trip. We packed
two sets of clubs in the
trunk with a garment
bag of wedding
formalwear. In the
frunk, we loaded two
suitcases, two backpacks, and golf shoes. A lunchsize
cooler of water fit underneath my knees in the
passenger seat, along with plenty of sunscreen and hats.
For ten days we spent roughly 30 hours in the car:
Dallas – Denver – Durango – Santa Fe – Albuquerque –
Dallas. I nervously drove two hours of this trip when he
tired, and surprisingly, nothing hurt. Upon our return,
I admit I fully turned the corner. I loved this Boxster!
We joined the Porsche Club and enjoyed PCA tours.
Pat experienced the thrill of DE weekends. More and
more of our life was now centered around this car, and
2016 flew by. At some point, I suggested I should have
a Boxster too. He proposed it should be a reward for
a goal I set, and slowly began to browse car ads again.
Upon reviewing the 2017 PCA tour calendar
and comparing it to Pat’s golf schedule, he decided
we wouldn’t do the Fortunata Winery Tour so he