Requiem for a Taurus '99

Ten years ago I bought my first new car. 103,191 miles later I have traded it in for a used truck. The new car was not the first Taurus I had ever owned, but the first I chose, financed, paid-off, repaired, and de-furred, until finally the cost of the latest repairs out-weighed the trade-in value. I had known this moment was coming. The car didn’t ride as nicely as it once had, and braked a little harder. But still it was comfortable and reliable and those are qualities that are hard to beat.
Among the 103,191 miles were more trips to Buffalo than I can count, a few trips to Virginia, and of course around New England. There were numerous flat tires, and one tow. There were cassettes, a CD-player adapter and finally an MP3 fm-receiver blaring through the speakers. There were moves from one apartment to another to a house and finally to my own home. There was fur from Sonya, some of which I left with the car.
In all that time there were never any questions, never any doubts. I always knew wherever I needed to go I could rely on my car to get me there. I only need get behind the wheel and turn the key.
Funny, I feel like Samson after his haircut. Without my reliable vehicle will I be less reliable too? I find that it is a quality I value in me as much as I valued it in my car.
I lost my first car in an icy accident, and swore I would not get emotionally attached to a car again. After all they are things, not pets or people. I did not name my cars, or baby them in any way. When it came time to give up the first two Tauruses it was a no brainer. But this time was harder. I bought my car because I was comfortable driving it and because I knew it would be reliable. And I was right. Those reasons were also why it was so hard to give it up. But this week I knew that I had to, and so I summoned up the courage to do so.
Last night I cleaned out my car, but I left in a few things I knew I would need for the trade. There was the bell from Letchworth State park that has been hanging from the mirror since my first car. There was the St. Christopher medallion that I got not long after I crashed my first car. And there was the Mickey Mouse antenna ornament that Nate bought me for Christmas after some kids stole the first one. I made sure to put them all where they belong on my green Escape.
Today when I left work for the dealership to trade in my car for my truck (SUV, I know) the car was covered in orange and yellow leaves from the maple trees that line the library parking lot. As I drove my car for the last time the leaves fluttered off and away. It was simple and it made me smile.
I worried when I pulled into the driveway with the truck that Sonya would not know it was me. But she did. She will learn to recognize the sound of my new engine just as she did the old one, and it will make her happy to know that I am home. And I will too.