The Passing of a Legend

I'm a psych major. I should know that cars don't have feelings. So when I said goodbye to the Suburban today, it was just MY feelings I was projecting onto an inanimate object. Right? I think that's what they taught me in college. But that old car sure did look sad, sitting in that lot with all the other broken down old cars. It didn't really know I was abandoning it forever, right?

Because it was supposed to be Our Car, the one we got paid off and kept forever. I really think I'm jinxed when it comes to cars. We have been trying to get a nice, inexpensive, practical car paid off for 20 years now. But we keep doing stupid stuff, like trading up, or wrecking them, or forgetting to change the oil, and it has yet to happen. And okay, so the burb didn't really qualify as inexpensive or practical, but it still would have been nice to have around a while longer.

I wrecked it on the 18th of November. It was that close on whether the insurance company would fix it for us or total it, but in the end, they didn't want to take the chance on finding a whole bunch more damage once we got inside the air bags and such. For a while we thought we would keep it and pay the extra to fix it up, but in the end we couldn't justify the expense, not with everything else on it that needed fixing, and a house purchase looming in our immediate future. So, after a major delay and hassle with the insurance company, we totaled it. Finally paid off the bank, and pocketed the difference.

It was always a love-hate relationship. I never wanted the car, and held a long grudge against Dan for buying it without telling me. It was constantly in need of repairs, or brakes, or very expensive tires. It was a small fortune to fill the gas tank. The blinkers didn't work, the locks and interior lights were temperamental at best, and the door handles were falling apart. It needed a new radiator. Most of the time, it was me and Olivia, driving around town in a 9 passenger SUV, and getting 9 miles to the gallon. That's the same gas mileage as a Hummer. A HUMMER!

But it was a nice car to drive. It was nice to have enough space for everybody and their stuff. We took some great camping trips in it, and a memorable Disneyland trip. Loved the 4 wheel drive. Loved being the biggest, toughest, meanest car on the road. The burb represented a time when we had a passel of kids at home, all needing to be hauled around at the same time. And that time passed really quickly.

We still have a passel of kids. Just not so many who need or want to be hauled around by us. It's harder to justify that gas mileage when we only have 4 kids who routinely go anywhere with us. But I don't know how we will go camping without it. And I will miss it on snowy days.

So goodbye to our Burb. It was fun while it lasted, even though you could never make a set of brakes last longer than a few months. Enjoy the junkyard, or the auction, or where ever it is they send you. I hope some really good mechanic buys you, fixes you up, paints you bright red with flames down your sides and gets you some of those gigantic tires and really nice shiny hubcaps. You deserve the best after putting up with us for all those years. Go in peace, my friend.