The air in the small car is warm, the harsh sun as filtered by tinted windows and sun shields graces the grey fabric-covered dashboard as it might a parked car during European summer.

The traffic lights turn from red to green.

I understand now why people say that cars purr. The slow acceleration of the engine is met by a polite resistance from the pedal and a gently hummed awakening of the engine. Nothing like genuine German mechanics, Dad had said. Away from country-side hills and rolling greens, instead near the beach, German mechanics become a coast-goer’s dream. It used to smell like mothballs, but the coconut-surfboard-wax air freshener dangling from the rear view mirror has bound driving to the scents of summer as it has been warmed by and muddled with sunshine. Faux red poppies from who knows when are wrapped tightly around the rear-view, too. They bounce gracefully against the upper seam of the windscreen, dancing with the horizon.

On today’s episode of hack, we’re talking about…

The radio babble cuts to static as driving becomes a rolling downhill descent. The sound is lost in purrs and turning wheels.

…debt. So are we worse off…

Each bump on the road is heightened by the closeness of the car to ground, a foot or so feels like inches.

…some are doing really well…

The steering wheel turns with the same polite resistance of the accelerator. The white bonnet dissolves into the path ahead and destination is forgotten.