Keep Moving Forward...With New Wheels...

Charlie

Today might be the last day for an old friend.

To you, that's a car. Yep, just an object. A thing.

To Sean, that's Charlie, a our trusty Honda Accord that we've had since he was two. Yes, Sean and I (and his mother) have had a habit of naming our cars.

Here is Sean in the lot as we prepared to drive away with Charlie (so named because the salesman's name was...Charles).

Sean and Charlie, 2004

No need to review why it all makes me nervous. Let's just chalk it up to big ticket purchase anxiety.

That being said, given the road (get that pun?) it's a momentous step for me.

So even with the rain yesterday, Sean and I cleaned Charlie inside and out. Why? Pride, I guess. As I looked at possible vehicles, I checked out some used cars on a lot in Kingston. The condition was, er, disgusting. I guess I just didn't want to hand mine off in such a way.

We've done a lot together in that car. That's how you get to 255 thousand miles. We went to Richmond, Boston, Maine, Vermont, Cape Cod, Albany, Cooperstown, Philadelphia, Lancaster, Redding, Baltimore, Washington, Oneonta, Long Island, and a lot of other places.

Having had the car since 2004, I can tell you that this car and I went to a lot of sports events. Too many games that I called across Connecticut and New York (and it sat at JFK while I was in Florida calling Greenwich/Naples).

But it's time to say goodbye to it. The drivers side back door handle hasn't worked in almost two years. The cruise control died before that. It's starting to see a hint of rust. It needs new tires and a few touch-ups to pass inspection.


It was a hell of a ride, and I guarantee the next car won't get many miles (only because I'll be on a lease and mileage will be at a premium).

As for what I am getting, it's looking pretty solid that I will have a 2014 Dodge Dart, thanks to the efforts of the dealer to work with finances and so on.

So, yeah, moving forward.