I felt betrayed. I felt the sorrow of a lost loved one. I felt a member of our family, one with the heart of a champion, had been torn from us. Jeff says it's better this way--that a clean break is better--no long, drawn-out good byes. No crying and carrying on about why it has to be this way. And then I ask him if he remembers how The Black Bullet took us just weeks ago to Arizona and back, "And this is how we repay the years of tireless service, the abuse without complaint, the performance with nary a need for maintenance? What if I start getting old, huh? What will you do with me?"
It's at this point he rolls his eyes. "Amber, there is another college student who needs her now. Her time with us is past."
Anyway, so I wrote a tribute to my car. I loved that car.
Subtotals: The Black Bullet
Number of miles traveled: 225,803. Number of owners: 4. Number of make-outs witnessed: 18. Number of seatbelts: 5. Number of cigarette burns: 9. Number of rips in leather, major: 5; minor: 11. Number of times being barfed on: 5. Number of car seats held: 3. Number of blow-outs: 0. Number of flats: 4. Number of jumps, received: 3; given: 10. Number of new batteries: 2. Number of times being hotwired: 0. Number of scratches in paint: 38. Number of emotional breakdowns witnessed: 12. Number of blizzards driven through: 29. Number of thunderstorms driven through: 74. Number of umbrellas in trunk: 1. Number of insects in grill, currently: 8; total: 78, 654. Number of times being cursed at: 3. Number of near-death experiences: 5. Number of animals hit: 4. Number of deer seen: 36. Number of trips to Idaho: 41. Number of cross-country trips: 0. Number of funerals driven to: 9. Number of trips to the grocery store: 672. Number of babies carried: 18. Number of washes: 177. Number of faces pressed upon the windows: 10. Number of suitcases carried: 224. Number of times sold: 4. Number of broken windows: 1. Number of French fries under driver’s seat: 2. Number of curbs driven upon: 49. Number of times anti-lock brakes engaged: 3. Number of times airbag deployed: 0. Number of states visited: 6. Number of garages lived in: 7. Number of times horn was honked: 106. Number of times shifted into reverse while rolling forward: 1. Number of times driven with gas door open: 2. Number of left turns: 22, 044. Number of wrong turns: 340. Number of witnessed nose pickings: 54. Number of preset buttons on radio: 8. Number of confessions heard: 16. Number of CDs played: 336. Number of times stranded on side of road: 0. Number of times being pulled over: 10. Number on license plate: 581. Number of doors: 4. Number of windows: 7. Number of mirrors: 3. Number of years on the road: 17.
