Jan. 27 - Write About A Used Car

By the time she was hauled off, that old gray car had logged many miles zig-zagging across the country. There were two trips from Washington to Ohio and back with two little girls, trunk loaded with clothes, food, and camping gear. One night on the road, weary and ready to find a place to stop, we ventured into Dinosaur National Monument on the Colorado side and followed the signs to a camp ground nestled in a little canyon. On our drive back out of the canyon the next day, I was slightly alarmed at the thin, bumpy road we'd traveled in the dark and the severe cliffs that sometimes hugged the little road. As we rose out of the canyon and back onto the main road we noticed a large park sign that read "Passenger Cars Not Advised".

That same car carried a newborn baby boy home from the hospital one late July day in 1999. The back seat was adorned with melted crayon from young artists who forgot to gather supplies from a hot car ride and a piece of string tied with a permanent knot hung from the hook over the right passenger door. It gave transportation to two restless girls, a wailing baby, and a gaggle of pill bugs that one little girl insisted make the move from Washington to Texas and unfortunately died along the way. The car came with me after the divorce. She would be loaded up many more times with tents and camping gear, make a few trips from Texas to Ohio, and many trips from San Antonio to Austin and back. By the time she'd been run to her limits a deep history had been worn into her upholstery. The driver's seat had begun to sag and rip and her engine sounded rough.

It is no wonder we can become attached to our cars and even name them. They carry us through life on air filled tires as documentation to our adventures, a mobile time capsule of our lives. Our stories are written with every turn of the odometer. And so it was with great sadness I watched her old gray form get towed off to the salvage yard. I said a little thank you for all the dependable years she gave us and watched as the tow truck turned the corner and disappeared.