RIP

It was hard to say it, but the time had come to bid my first car goodbye.

The 1990 Pontiac Sunbird has sat in the visitor's parking for a year, since David moved to Vancouver and stopped driving her illegally to the Beer Store.

She served me well. My first job came only on the condition I have a camera and a car. Five days and $2,195 later, she was mine. Together we went from festival to farm to various crappy assignments throughout southwestern Ontario.

We got along great for a year and then the problems started. First there was that weird fog that formed on the windshield and the smell, oh god, the smell. But she saw someone and got better. The relationship continued. Through the good and the bad (ending up in the snow filled ditch after sliding on black ice on the rural road -- we were both fine). She took me from Scarborough to Belmont to Waterford to Simcoe and back.

Things took a turn for the worse in the winter of 2003 when the bleeding of oil and gas was added to the bleeding of radiator fluid. Others were worried and suggested I replace her, but I stayed loyal until on a cool February day she died just blocks from home. Luckily, she was resuscitated, but that day was the last time she got me home. By Monday she'd been replaced with a 2004 Chevy Aveo. Dave and her carried on for a while...until he went away.

For months, she sat neglected in the parking lot. Efforts to find her a new home failed. Friday morning I found a note that had been placed under her right wiper. "Please remove this car from the visitor's parking lot by Saturday," it read. The Wreckers were called and now she is gone. I don't know what will become of her, all I know if the Food Bank is getting $40 and a tax receipt will come my way.

Letting go of your first is hard. She was my first real foray into adulthood. With her came the responsibility of upkeep and insurance, but also the freedom to get away whenever I wanted. She left her mark. I will remember her fondly.