9-3-09

Out with the old, in with the new; selling and buying vehicles

“’59 Cadillac, ’57 Chevrolet.”
David Allen Coe sang about his favorite cars and motorcycles as did many musicians.
Bruce Springsten, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Dwight Yoakam also sang about Cadillacs and the blues man K. C. Douglas was “Crazy ‘bout a Murcury” back in ’49.
The bottom line is that everyone loves their cars and they will obviously sing it from the mountain tops.
I think all of us have that special car we loved to drive at some point in our life, usually a first car, or the vehicle you and your friends would drive around in ’til all hours of the night meeting up with all of your other friends.
For me, one of my favorite modes of transportation was a ’76 metallic green Ford van.
The “Green Van” as everyone called it was empty on the inside but loaded with fun.
At one point, I played bus driver. There were a lot of my friends that hated riding the school bus and paid good money to arrive at the front doors of Thomas Stone high school in style. Well, maybe not in style but at least not on the bus.
I was able to cram about ten of my closest friends in the van and make a good chunk of money at the end of the week.
Then one day, my father told me that it was time to sell the “Green Van.”
My heart stopped for a split second and I think a tear emerged from the corner of my eye.
The end of an era.
Recently, I sold a Jeep that Leigh and I have had for about eight years.
While I was cleaning all of our personal items out of the truck, I started to get a little bit of an empty spot inside of me.
This truck drove us back and forth to Boston for many years. When we moved to Maryland, it comfortably delivered us on either end of our weekend trips to North Carolina.
The Jeep trailered loads of furniture, motorcycles, and bicycles all over the east coast. I even raced another SUV around the DC beltway at one in the morning. Not a proud moment.
This truck saw two newlyweds turn into homeowners and then into parents.
That’s a lot of stories tucked into the crevices of that truck.
We are now searching for a replacement vehicle that is a little bigger to help haul our expanding family around comfortably. Although giving up a vehicle can be a somewhat sad event, the excitement of a new truck can overcome that feeling.
Our life gets to make a slight upgrade. Trucks eight years ago pale in comparison to those of today.
The children might have the opportunity to have some built in entertainment which will provide Leigh and me with a bit of quiet time on a long trip.
I am sure there will be many family memories that will be made in whatever we buy. Weekend road trips, football tailgating in the fall and trips to the beach in the summer.
When my son is old enough to take care of the new truck and change the oil, he will have his own vehicle to haul all of his friends around in, stay out all night and shed a tear when I sell it.
Bryan Pinkey can be found searching for his old “Green Van” or at bpinkey@nccox.com.