My first car was a cute 1996 Firebird. Drove it everywhere! Bucket seats, big windows - But by the time I turned 20, the Firebird was costing me far more in repairs, than it was actually worth - That is when Mom talked me into buying a used 2000 Oldsmobile SUV - "Unlike your last car, this one will be safe, reliable. SUV's are great for NY state winters" - Not entirely sure why I agreed to buy it... never liked it. Behind the wheel, I felt like a 50 year old mechanic, with bad breath, dirty fingernails and soggy shoes....
A year passed - By 2005, I was regularly traveling to NYC for modeling work - After a particularly profitable trip to NYC, I was driving my OldManCar and I passed a Used Car Lot - There, glittering in the sun, inviting as a warm black stone, was a beautiful black mustang convertible.... The car looked like happiness. It looked like freedom. It looked like an Adventure. I pulled over, asked the owner if I could take it for a test drive, he said, "Go ahead"... So I did. When I got back, I called my mom at work and told her, "I am trading my SUV for a Mustang Convertible."..... I cannot explain to you, how upset she was - I cannot explain to you, how badly I needed to own that car....
The mustang was the #1 reason that I decided to model around the US - Without that mustang, I would not have been inspired to drive 100,000 miles in three years - I yearned to put the top down, blasting my favorite album, traveling up Highway 1..... We went to 47 states together - Camped in over 40 National Parks - She survived a mudslide in Utah - Drove the mountains of Colorado - Slept in both high/low deserts - Provided entertainment for both me and my best friend. Managed Highway 1 (twice) - Survived a Mormon Parade - Had a homeless man with terminal cancer help change her tire - Saw most of southern Canada, including Banff and Jasper - She took a virgin trip to Burning Man (how she didn't die there, blows my mind) ....... Last year, she helped me move all the way from Cleveland Ohio to Austin TX.....
That car was my dream car - With the top down, I felt like I could go anywhere and everything would be OK - Losing her, is the end of an era for me..... Tomorrow she will be sent to a junk yard to be parted-out and..... well... it... feels like my childish dreams are also being parted-out with her... it sucks
But I need to face it - Her body has rusted out completely - Break lines have busted for the third time now. She has two temporary plugs in her oil well, both which have been leaking. Both of the seatbelts do not work. There are no airbags. The car keeps overheating. Airconditioning is gone. The trunk doesn't open. Windshield is cracked. The transmission is months from being blown.... The guy who fixed it last referred to my mustang as a "death trap".... And while the Mustang lasted two years after his prophecy, these last few months, his words began to ring true....
My Ode to the Mustang: I love you much.... thanks for holding out so long...
8 comments:
Nice entry.
I think every one of us has that one favorite car that we'll never forget (and one that we never want to remember). Mine was my '87 Toyota MR-2. No matter how many other cars you'll own in your lifetime, that Mustang will probably always be the most important to you. It's like losing a dear old friend.
Your Mustang led a far richer and more interesting life than I have.
That's a gorgeous photo...car is nice too...
Sorry girl. I wish there was something i could say to make it better. I can tell it really bothers you. Stay strong. Maybe it's a sign that the changes we talked about on sunday are meant to be. Love you girl.
Nicole
London, my first vehicle was a Ford F-150 XL with a single cab, an inline 6 engine and an 8 foot bed. I loved that truck, and we traveled over 130,000 miles together in the 4 years I owned her. She wasn't the fastest or prettiest, the loudest or the biggest--but I fell in love with that truck. And not to rub it in, but as of today, she is still going, closing in on 300,000 for a guy down the street. I'm gonna buy her back one day, and fix 'er up, make her feel "pretty" again lol.
The attachment we get to vehicles is funny, but it is a sign that we are at least happy with our ride, if not greater aspects of life. Cry for your black beauty then go out and get something that you have an equal affinity for--my newest truck was kinda plain jane when I bought it, but I've made it mine over the past 2 years. You'll find something that you'll love as much:)
You made each other look beautiful, LA.
You needed her, She need you. Together, you saw the country, and made memories.
Hold on to those memories tight.
I'm a Ford guy (see last post lol) so I would vote on another black 'Stang, but check the gauges, engine shifting and tranny really good before you commit. Otherwise, it looks clean and should give you the 5-7 years you'll need easy as long as you give it regular maintenance.
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