Farwell, Old Friend

Now that it's finally gone, we can call it an old friend.

Hallelujah.

Right after we started dating, Clay bought this car. It was the first car he ever bought on his own.

Since buying this car, we have put at least as much into the car to keep it running as Clay initially paid for it.

There were a few times when we thought we might not make it home from a road trip. Clay stopped driving it for anything other than his short commute to school or rotations. I drove my car everywhere else.

I'm pretty sure the steering wheel has grounds for taking out a restraining order on Clay. When the car would act up, it sure got a whoopin'.

It was a miracle when it passed emissions and was able to be registered here in Arizona. Thanks to the mechanic who charged us $200 to turn off the check-engine light. And thanks to the fact that in Arizona, you can purchase a registration that lasts two years instead of just one.

Clay has been driving around with any number of his dashboard lights on for a long time. Didn't feel like paying another few thousand dollars to get all the issues fixed and purchase a new transmission.

On the upside, Clay has had two rotations in Sun City and he fit right in with all the old folks, driving around his white Buick.

Needless to say, this car was pretty much running on a prayer.

A big prayer considering Clay's registration expired in January and he didn't realize it until two or three weeks ago. Oops.

(Zane and I stood on the sidewalk and waved goodbye and took cell phone pictures to commemorate "Dad's Old Car" as it drove away)

We sure hope the underprivileged children to whom we donated the car "enjoy" it as much as Clay has these past seven years.

Adios, amigo viejo.