It’s Only A Car

I hear that a lot, “It’s just a car”.  When it comes to cars,I divide people in three groups;  1. there are those that see a car strictly as a tool to get from place to place, 2. those that want the car to be an extension of their living room, and 3. those that have love affairs with them.  I fall hopelessly into the third group.  I have loved every car I ever owned.  If you have read some of my other stories, this should come as no surprise and you should know I lean toward sports cars and the passion they bring along for the ride.  So why is it that we are so choked up over the selling of a 1990 Honda Civic DX?  I took my last ride in it the other day and it hit me hard.  Yes, the car was extremely reliable, it always got me home.  The interior was banged up and the body needed paint and some ding repairs here and there.  We had talked about selling it off and on for a while but, always put it off.  The car was part of the family.  Yesterday we sold it and watched it drive away.  My wife, who leans toward the first group, walked from the driveway to the kitchen, looked out the window and cried.  My son and I felt the very same but, trying to stay manly, weren’t showing it.  You see this car was a gift from my father from his deathbed.  It was the final time we spoke.  It was one of many gifts a son receives from a father but this was the final one.  There wasn’t one time I got in that car that I didn’t think of him.  The headliner was filled with nicks from his fishing poles.  The seat was worn from his getting in and out.  Every time I griped the wheel, that he had held, was like touching his hand again.  After he passed away I drove it back to my home state and cried so hard I couldn’t see the road ahead but, that car got me back safe to my family.  This process of grieving is supposed to take three years.  That’s what the experts say.  I think those experts belong in the first group.  Sometimes it just takes longer to let go.  The young man and his wife thought we were selling him a Honda.  We knew, it was time to let go, we were saying the final goodbye.