So Long, Old Friend

After 6 great years, my time with Val (the affectionate name I gave my Camaro) has come to a close. This past weekend, my next door neighbor asked me what happened to my car. I explained to him the story and finished by mentioning that I was going to try and get $500 for it. He immediately said "I'll take it," and even took my keys right away to pull it into his driveway so no one else would see it and think it might be for sale. I am pretty sure he has a buddy who works in a body shop, and since the car still runs great, he is probably seeing dollar signs by thinking he can repair the body damage real cheap and turn a profit.

I am putting two interesting pictures below. The first was taken the day after I bought the car in 2001. The second was taken the day after I sold it in 2007. The things of this world sure do pass away. As a part of the grieving process, I also wrote a letter to say good-bye and so I can have a little closure. I will put that below as well.










Dear Val,

This is not going to be easy, but it is time for us to say good-bye. Now that I am a little more mature, I am comfortable admitting that I bought you to be cool. And boy were you cool! Manual transmission, custom rims, low to the ground, cool angles - you had it all. Girls went absolutely crazy over you.

Well, actually just one girl, but she ended up being my wife. Laura and I had our first date in you. You provided us a perfect environment to make-out and, after we were married, some other things (wink!). I know that Laura is just as sad about all of this as I am.

My friends and I had a great time in you. You were a part of the scandal that rocked Olivet Nazarene University. I will never forget the night we were doing doughnuts in parking lot only to be pulled over by campus security. I humbly accepted the reckless driving ticket, but the campus security officer, hungry for power, tried to frame me and get me trouble by saying I was rude and called the him a "pig." However, we had conclusive video evidence that proved otherwise, and that officer lost his job for filling out a faulty report. Good times!

You have always been a good car. In fact, I never had a major mechanical problem with you. You started when I needed you to start and you took me where I needed to go. For those reasons and so many more, I will always remember you. From now on, whenever I see a Camaro on the road, a twinkle will come to my eye and I will recall the good times.

With much love,

Todd