Our new car got wet today, darn it! We'd gone nearly a week since picking it up this past Saturday without even the tires getting dirty.

We got rid of the mini-van. The kids are grown; there's no need any more to have a vehicle large enough to move a semester's worth of possessions off to college. Patty will have lots more fun driving a smaller car around town. And there was no reason to continue putting up with the mini-van's atrocious gas mileage.

When we were car shopping, I set a minimum standard of 30 mpg around town, and we ordered a manual transmission Pontiac Vibe that's rated right at 30. (36 on the highway.) The stick shift is for fun -- but we had to order one because the dealer doesn't sell any when they're in stock! Isn't that sad?

Anyway, there are two major motivations for getting a smaller gas-sipping car (besides the fun component!). One is to better care for God's creation. We'll still be spewing polutants into the air, but not nearly as many of them. The other motivation is patriotism. The less gasoline we consume, the less we'll be dependent upon oil producers who hate us.