March 30, 2016--Our Old Passat

I received more questions about which car we finally bought than about all my political musings.

After spending nearly two full weeks visiting a dozen showrooms and test driving everything from basic Chevrolets to "loaded" Mercedes, we decided to keep our old VW Passat.

And are feeling very good about it.

We came close to selecting a Maine-compatible Volvo or a South-Florida-sporty Benz E350; but just as we were about to close the deal, backed out and reembraced our old VW.

Yes, reembraced.

As we pulled our chairs closer to the salesman's desk and I searched for my reading glasses, Rona and I looked at each other and began softly to cry.

"We drove your mother in this car," Rona said through tears. "Including to her last Chinese meal. There's been so much loss this year. I'm not ready to lose our old car too. It is so full of memories."

"I was having similar feelings," I said, looking toward the salesman who I assumed has seen it all. "Also, how we used it so many evenings driving friends to dinner. I limited myself to half a glass of wine and designated myself the designated driver. And now . . ."

"I know what you mean. And who you mean. And since they are now struggling with such serious health issues . . ."

". . . it's unlikely that the four of us will ever agin be able to have dinner together."

We sat silently for a moment, avoiding eye contact, and then Rona said, "Are we being overly sentimental? I mean, after all, we're talking about a car . . ."

She shrugged, then answered her own question, "We're not. We're not being silly. This car is just too full of  these memories. And even if we're being emotional, what's wrong with that? I mean . . ."

So we decided to keep it but also to take care of some deferred repairs, which we were ignoring in anticipation of trading it in.

We had the transmission fluid replaced and all the lines and filters cleaned so now it runs as smoothly as when it was new. We had a new oil pump installed as it was beginning to leak slowly around the gasket and replaced all four tires so that we again have a remarkably quiet ride.

And while we were at Tire Kingdom waiting for the new tires to be mounted, someone she didn't know offered to pay $500 toward the $800 cost of new brake pads and drums a young woman was told she needed but which she couldn't afford.

A random act of kindness that made all of us realize there are any number of ways to turn gloomy days into happy ones.

Including the Tire Kingdom manager who told us with an off-the-record smile that at 103,000 miles our memory-ladened Passat is just getting started.