a vehicle eulogy

Beloved Buick,
In the year of 1997, you rolled off the assembly line, shiny and new. At that time you were one owner and six years away from entering our lives. But you were wanted nonetheless.

Hardly the product of overindulgent parents striving to suffice sweet sixteen expectations, you were a used dream materialized when a young man purchased you outright and in cash. You were bought through the sweat of a teenaged umpire, sacrificing what limited free time he had at the ball field. Your air conditioning brought sweet relief after standing in the sweltering heat calling pitches. He was thankful to trade in the soundtrack of heckling spectators for the Matt Wertz that drifted through your system.

In college you made his rounds. Tailgating at all sorts of professional and collegiate games, your trunk was the perfect size for the mini grill. You picked up his girl from class when it rained and risked many a parking tickets while you waited for him to finish his dinner at the dining hall.

Several times you took him to summer camp. Since then you chauffered countless teenagers who had no other way of getting to church but by you.

In the summer of 2006, you pulled away from a wedding reception, sporting shoe polish and silly string. One week later and chock full of boxes of the newlyweds' belongings you forged three states to your new home. For the next three years you racked up the miles getting to Dallas and back for seminary classes. You never knew you could go that fast.

In the spring of 2008 you pulled out of the hospital parking lot with a seven pound bundle of joy as your newest passenger. You never knew you could go that slow.

Or carry that much stuff.

In your six years with us you survived fishing trips, diaper changes, sunflower seeds and shady parts of multiple towns. So when your transmission surrendered last weekend on that Missouri highway, we couldn't fault you. We weren't easy owners. But we sure are grateful.

R.I.P. Le Sabre. And if there is such a thing as Buick heaven, could you please have those belongings we left in you shipped to us? You know where we live.