A Euleogy for Sarah · 11:03pm Feb 24th, 2021
Cheriot of Gold. First I earned.
Ancient beyond measure,
by her first owner, spurned.
She came to me in her golden years.
Claimed to be whole, well maintained.
Purchased for cash and a few beers.
Four years of faithful service given.
A few small repairs were made.
Comparatively nothing for the miles ridden.
Then, the lie was made manifest.
Well maintained? Not at all.
Thickened fluids against her differential pressed.
One hundred thousand miles at best.
That's how long she'd suffered the fluids.
So the mechanic assessed.
The differential blew, too much stress.
Proper maintenance is a must.
With it, I would not be left as a mess.
To put right that which lies sundered,
"At the low end," said the mechanic,
"four thousand and eight hundred."
A Queen's ransom, if I've ever heard one.
More than I've ever had.
And so, to my despair, she is done.
The mechanic is payed, Sarah has been sold.
For now, I weep.
And Sarah lies with people who repair the cars of old.
I will miss you, Sarah. I shall keep your rear plate forever.
Please understand that because Autism, I see machines in much the same way you might see your pets. To me, this is exactly the same as a dog you own and love dying. I do not mean to trivialize loss by expressing this as I did. To me, this is just as bad as loosing a family member.
Beautiful. A car is more than a machine, it is memories.
When you lose anything close to you it hurts, the only thing you can do is remember it/them and move on.
Please understand that because Autism, I see machines in much the same way you might see your pets. To me, this is exactly the same as a dog you own and love dying.That's better.
You are not alone.
Plenty of people do.
--Spade
This is really well composed, Meep. I'm sorry for your loss.
5460796
Indeed. A personal vehicle becomes like unto a part of your self.
Sorry about your truck Meep. That's really unfortunate.
I actually understand that a little. In my case it's old computers, but yeah...
For a long time, I kept the license plates from my first 3 cars (a 79, an 80 and an 82) and the last one (repoed 4 years ago). When all my stuff was discarded, they went as well. I still remember them all.
Myakka Prince (1967 Catalina, purchased in 79, died in 80) FL DZZ-893 Pinellas County
Murphy (1980 Chevette, totaled 1982) NY 850-USZ, CT 282-AMV
Jak (1982 Chevy S-10 totaled 1996) CT C-77757
Titania (2015 Chevy Spark) AZ BPH-9895
May they rust in peace.
I know how you feel, Meep.
I still think about my first car. A 1989 Honda Accord LX-i. 2 doors, manual transmission, burgundy color, headlights that flipped up. My faithful companion through high school and college. Only sold it when I left for a job overseas.
5461023 It would be cool if you could find her somewhere out there once more.
I remember when I was doing skid car training with the police. It's a normal car connected to a frame with pneumatic lifts and shopping cart wheels on each corner. By raising and lowering the front and back, they can simulate oversteer and understeer, and total loss of traction at safe speeds. Anyway, I'm in the driving seat, learning how to deal with oversteer, effectively doing doughnuts on a runway. It's much harder than it looks even at 20mph. As I'm trying to keep the nose in line, I fine myself saying 'Easy, girl. Easy' as I try to keep her steady. Cue much mocking from my instructor and fellow students for talking to my car as if it were a horse.
5461177 Yeah... Surprising amount of Boomers have no respect for hardware. Things have personality. Quirks. No two machines are the same, even if the share a model.
5461027
Maybe so, but odds aren't good that a 30-year-old Honda is going to be in any kind of shape to run.
5462239 If you found your old childhood dog and they were sick, you'd probably take them to a vet and pay whatever it took for them to be well. Why should your car be any different when it did much much much much more for you than a dog ever could?