Aging. Load exceeds vehicle recommendations. Rust blooms where elements erode or pool. Creaky knees. Stiff hips. Short-term memory problem, will stall if left idle. Range of vision shortened by starring. Left shoulder sagging. Voluntary reflexes work this time, maybe not next. Skin dull overall. Could use a full service day spa for a week. Long miles on the engine, some hard distance. The stopping mechanism needs work. Filters less effective. We adjust. We coast.
What a lovely truck! I always liked the look of the older Cherokees. We had a 1998 Wrangler (black, clear coat finish), but black ice + tree, cut her life short. Her replacement, a 2001 Wrangler (built on a Wednesday in Ohio), a nigh identical twin, became our new chariot. On August 6th our Jeep (186,000+ miles) met her end in a freakish accident, luckily no one was hurt...yes, she was rusty, she made odd noises, we coaxed her to start every morning (Come on, you can do it!) We bought her new fully intending to drive her into the ground, the accident expedited the end. We loved that old Jeep, she served us well...when you've driven the same vehicle for so many years they become part of the family...people knew it was us coming because of her familiar profile. A fixture, my Fred dropping me off every morning on campus was a familiar sight after all these years. Our loss was acknowledged by many who knew us. (Tho' some did say, "It was time." Yes, it was time.) By August 17th (our 30th wedding anniversary, where did the time go?) we drove her replacement for the first time, a Toyota Tacoma (black, clear coat), it's surprisingly very much like our old friend, Jeep...we sometimes can't tell if it's running, she's so quiet! With our achy bones, it's much better to climb up into a truck than to crawl into a hole of a low-riding car (trying to pry myself out of our son's Mustang is far from graceful)...we need the 4 x 4 to get through the Upstate NY winters, all those hills and twisty country roads...it's like being young again with a new vehicle...yet we're feeling our age and hope that this truck will take good care of us like the Jeep had done for all those years...getting us where we gotta go.
ReplyDeleteI told a friend yesterday that the Jeep is the longest relationship I've had! I love that car. It's been a bonny companion, faithful and true.
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