Anna and I are living downtown--just a few blocks from where I'll be working. This is going to be terribly convenient, and we'll only need one car. Therefore, we decided to sell my car. I completed the transaction this past Friday, and it was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. The car I sold was my first car, the one I got when I was 16.
I'm grateful that I have a family that could afford to get me a car when I became street-legal. I still remember when my mother came to pick me up from a track meet at Pace High School in 1996. I couldn't find her car in the lot, and she totally surprised me by unlocking the new Grand Prix. I was most impressed with the sound system because it was the first car in our family that had a CD player in it. I must have listened to the Eric Clapton Unplugged album (my favorite album at that time in my life) a hundred times in that car.
I took pretty good care of that car, and I remember spending a lot of hot, Florida Saturday mornings washing that car so that I could impress some bonnie lass. I drove several ladies around in that car on first dates, and I also drove it on the last dates with those same ladies. Most of those events were the same date. Even a sweet ride will not overcome the stigma that comes with looking like Harry Potter.
In the roughest times, I would just drive that car around to empty my mind. In the best of times--most notably, our wedding--the car was waiting for us at the end of a long line of friends that were blowing bubbles through cheap, plastic wands.
All of these memories came back in a quick rush when the buyer and I agreed on a price. Though it's just a thing/machine/object/stuff, it has been with me through my formative years. If I were to include that sort of intangible value in my price, nobody could afford my car. So, it didn't, and it sold. And I felt rotten for a little while afterwards.
I hope that the car serves the buyer well. It's going to a family that needs a new ride, and they're getting a great, well-kept machine. I also think that I left a disc in the CD player, so, if they're reading this, they could get that back to me if they want to be decent--just leave it with Phil.
Goodbye, old friend. Truly, wider is better.
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4 comments:
Austin, I feel your pain. Witness my blog post from last June:
http://julietiemann.blogspot.com/2008/06/new-car.html
Cling to the memories, my friend. Be strong.
I've had a blog post long-brewing in my mind about my first car as well. I'm honestly afraid to post it for fear it will jinx our current (good) car situation, but you may have inspired me.
Can you tell the Tiemanns understand?
That is so sad to get rid of that car. I remember you washing it but do not remember you going on any dates in it (or any other car). I also remember it getting TP'd one Sunday night. I hate to see it go, but I haven't actually seen it in 10 years, so I guess it isn't that big of a deal.
Brandon
Mike, that's a beautiful story re Tercy. I pray that my post is as fitting a tribute. Julie, I want to hear about this car. I look forward the post. Brandon, I can only refer back to the self-deprecating Harry Potter comment. As a gentleman, I'm not going to start naming any of the ladies that I somehow convinced to catch a movie with me. Well, I guess that I can name Anna since her name is emblazoned on the mug in the title picture.
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