A bit sad tonight as I sit on the train, Toronto-bound. Just before boarding the train I drove my old green VW Golf down to my mechanic and said goodbye.

The car has been a great and dependable friend over almost 8 years and has carried me and others 128 000 km (80 000 mi) to good times and bad times, near and far.

No doubt it winced as it contemplated each foray down washboard gravel logging roads in Algonquin park. I am sure it sighed with resignation at the thought of the next load of stuff moved between 3 of my apartments and my house, to say nothing of the apartments of others. It endured freezing cold winters galore and always started (except once). It stayed on the road, while many others slid off.

It welcomed the increasingly frequent visits from a certain individual who came to be a fixture in the passenger seat, although it must have been puzzled about why that seat was always sliding all the way to the front. Although it didn’t set out to be a diner, a good few meals were consumed in it as well. It waited patiently as I worked and played, and with very few exceptions was already ready for an unexpected jaunt or side-trip.

At the end of the day, my mechanic tells me that with repair and rebuilding it may still have 100 000 kilometers left to go. I hope he’s right. I hope someone will take care of it and enjoy it as much as I have. I wasn’t its first friend but I tried to be a good one, and I hope I will not be its last.

 › domicile     2007-06-06 23:35   ...1 comment