Neil Young once wrote a song for a favorite car that he had to sell.. It was called ‘Long may your run’… It’s been looping through my head all afternoon…   The reason being.. we had to get rid of our much loved Town and Country van today..  Last week it overheated as Max and Gabe drove back from a family dinner on Nov 20th.. the day we mark Sam’s accident.   The heat had been erratic for about a week… At first I suspected a leaking coolant hose.. but when we got it started again, the sickly sweet smell of glycol in the exhaust got me worried.. A cracked head or block…perhaps ?  We had it towed t to the shop where they did find a couple of leaks and replaced the thermostat.. .. We were happy to have it back.. but later that same day, the heat failed again. I checked and the radiator was only half full again.. We took it back to the shop.. and they confirmed the worst. The car had a cracked head… at 146K miles, it wouldn’t pay for us to fix it.

 

 

So today, after a good cleaning and thorough search of every nook and cranny, we took it to Good News Garage to donate.. The third car we’ve given them. Good News does a wonderful service by repairing cars they get and distributing them to folks in the community who can use them.. The ones they can’t fix, they sell for parts.. We’d always intended to donate this car.. but hoped it would be a year or so down the road.

This car has got to be the most loved, most versitile and most hard driven cars we’ve ever had. It had just the right kind of features.. com7y, powerful 4 wheel drive that could pull a stump, and the most versitile changable seating I’ve ever seen in a car.

 

But…. it had much more than that,, it had many, many memories.. How many times did we carry three sleeping boys to the car, cover them with balnkets and drive off through the pre dawn to grandparents ? How many times did it haul three kids up and down the mountian.. How many times did it haul boats  or intertubes to the river,  or fetch wet smelly kids  and or dogs from the otehr end. How many Long Trail hikers have we ferried up or down to the trail head.. how many friends have we moved ? How many trips to the dump  How many science shows have I unack of that an ? loaded from the very high back ….

Who knows.. who cares.. it’s only a car…

I wish I could feel that way..it would be easier..  but I can’t

 

As we did the final de-ussing of the car, I didn’t know what sort of ritual I needed to perform ? .. should I make up a prayer ?

Sing a song ?

I  gave the car a big kiss, put a samstone in teh glove box.. and locked the door.. It was gone..

Long may you run my freind.. I hope you’re repaired by some able folks at the garage and spend the rest of your life helping out soemone who needs you..

If not that, I hope your parts find their way into other cars and give them those extra miles

(I know…. I know..  but I can’t go there…)

nite all, nite sam

-me