the end of an era

The intense heat wave two weeks ago put the final nail in the coffin of a very special relationship.

I bought "baby" when I was sixteen years old. My brother looked her over first, but I swooped in the moment he passed her by. She had roughly 90,000 miles to her name to which I added another 80,000. I could not have asked for more out of my first car. Baby was worth every nickel.

Over the years we shared a numbers of trips together, some of which I never made it to my intended destination. She was not the most reliable nor was she ever a sight to behold. As high school and college friends quickly started burying their old cars, I held on to Baby for both sentimental and financial reasons. When we would get together, they would either ask when I was replacing her or shake their heads. However, one of the senior ladies at church would always smile and praise my car whenever I picked her up on Sunday mornings. She liked the automatic seat belts and homely feeling.

But alas all good things must come to an end. Baby still sits on the street as I await her grand exit. Replacing her is easy because she had become completely unreliable and a great headache. However, as a friend brought to my attention, replacing her is like the ending of an era. The days of my youth (talking high school and college because I am still young) have been behind me for a while, but Baby was always my reminder of those days gone by.

Everyone I talk to always remembers their first car. I know I will follow suit, and I will be able to look back fondly of the great adventures we had together.

Now for some new adventures...

(and it's a stick-shift so right now hills, red-lights, and stop signs are the mountains I must climb)