Well, that didn’t last too long.

In the long line of household appliances and mechanical things to break, the VentoZip scooter is the latest tragedy. It was sold for parts to the repair shop that we took it too. Something about the oil line not working and the engine locking up is what sent it to its grave.

The VentoZip was a fine scooter. I rode it around the neighborhood and to the local market a few times. It was just unfortunate that this type of thing had to happen. It was going to help cut our gas bill way down, and be a source of enjoyment for a few years to come.

Since this is our second scooter in two years (the arrest warrant is still out on the guy who hit Damon), we have decided to table the scooter desire until later in life. It would be sweet to replace it with a another TNG, Honda Metropolitan, or even a Vespa, but we just don’t have the money for any of those right now.

But I did stop and drool over the Honda Metropolitan on display at Nightfall Friday night. And I always stare longingly at other scooters as they go by on the streets (Chattanooga is becoming a scooter town). I notice our friends who have zip around St. Elmo and admit I am a bit jealous- Josiah’s unmistakable Mint Green Stella, Estar’s Raspberry TNG, Cindy’s yellow TNG (that looks exactly like our first scooter- people still think that it is me going down the street when it is her). There is an orange scooter in town that really makes me jealous, since orange is my favorite color.

Maybe again, someday, we can have the scooter lifestyle that many of our friends are enjoying these days. But now, we will stick to the bus, bike, and walk route to save gas money. And it seems to be working.

In case you didn’t notice, a new scooter has become part of the family.

When it was apparent that Damon was going back to work, we ramped up our search for a new scooter to replace the wrecked one. Damon found one via Atlanta’s Craigslist and when my mom was visiting, he took my dad’s truck to Marietta to pick it up.

It is a very used Vento Zip, which is essentially the same as our previous TNG. We can use some of the old (good) TNG parts on the new Zip if we need to. It is all red and came with a full helmet to match.

The nice weather recently has allowed Damon to ride it to work often, and when the weather is consistently warm, I might take a turn or two on it. Fuller won’t get to officially ride it until he is much, much older, but he loves wearing the helmet.

It is great to be part of the scooter community again. It might not be a fancy Stella or Vespa, but it does its part in getting D around.

(Also, the warrant is out for the guy who hit Damon. So we are hoping that he is picked up for something so that another attempt at justice can occur.)

Last year my birthday present was the scooter. Within a month it was wrecked by a hit and run driver.

We miss that scooter. There is a woman in our neighborhood who also works in my building. She has the same scooter that we had so I see it often in front of my office building. Today as I walked to the bus stop I saw her drive away (in the rain) and I watched her with a little sadness in my heart. That could have been me all bundled up and getting drenched in the rain.

We often look around at various getting places (ebay, craigslist, employee classifieds) to see if maybe another scooter could worm its way into our hearts. While we usually find ourselves looking at gas scooters with their low, low gas mileage, I have seen some interesting electric scooters as well.

Urban scooters has a wide selection of all kinds of scooters- push, electric, gas, and even those pocket scooters I keep seeing around the streets. If we had a scooter from Urban Scooters I think I would stick to using it in St. Elmo, just because I am not sure if it would have the omph of my old 49cc scooter. Yet the prices seem reasonable and deserve a good look when/ if we get serious about replacing our old scooter.

But right now, we decided to do the floors instead.

Here we are ten-and-a-half months after my scooter hit-and-run accident. Yesterday, I went to court to watch the wheels of justice inexorably grind their way towards… well, justice, I hope. Actually, not much happened yesterday.

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As I mentioned before, Damon has placed our scooter parts on ebay. If you are in the market for spare tires, an engine, or other doohickeys of the scooter variety, then head on over to ebay and bid, bid, bid! Or you can Buy! It! Now!

We are sad that within a month after getting the scooter it was busted up by a stupid, drug dealing hit and runner. We talk about getting a new one all the time, but unfortunately when we ask our bank account to participate in the conversation it reminds us, in a loving yet firm voice, that now is not the time.

So for now, we offer our old scooter up for sale, piece by piece, part by part. Hopefully they will make other people happy when they are able to fix their own scooters with the parts we have.

(Oh, and if anyone has any idea why the shipping amount on the engine will not change when we keep changing it to the proper amount, please let us know. Shipping on the engine is not $130!)

So, three months after my scooter hit-and-run accident, my assailant’s first court date was this past Thursday. Lots of folks have asked about how things are going, so here’s the rather drawn-out latest chapter of the story:

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