Giving up the Gray Ghost
I sold the Comet today to a wrecking yard. It’s a car that I have owned for almost 20 years. It’s a silver (and rust) 1964 Mercury Comet and I bought it from my parents on my sixteenth birthday for a $1. My grandmother bought it brand new. My grandparents drove it cross country a few times. My parents bought it from her. I remember riding in the back as kid putting my hot wheels in the ashtray and humming along with the AM radio.
Despite owning lots of different cars over the years, I kept the Comet because I felt I could always fix it in a pinch until the steering column wiring shorted out and nearly electrocuted me while I was driving back in 1998. I kept it knowing that I would always have roof over my head if I needed one. I lived in it for a while, and almost died in it a few times, driving too fast, too reckless, or with too many brittle, frayed wires inside the steering column. Most of all, I kept it because it was the last reminder of “anywhere in five minutes”, “the shortcut!”, Bonny Doon, Davenport, and Big Sur. It was the nexus of all the people and places that I have known and loved. As silly as it sounds, I’ll miss it.
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Private: Giving up the Gray Ghost
I sold the Comet today to a wrecking yard. It’s a car that I have owned for almost 20 years. It’s a silver (and rust) 1964 Mercury Comet and I bought it from my parents on my sixteenth birthday for a $1. My grandmother bought it brand new. My grandparents drove it cross country a few times. My parents bought it from her. I remember riding in the back as kid putting my hot wheels in the ashtray.
Despite owning lots of different cars over the years, I kept the Comet because I felt I could always fix it in a pinch until the steering column wiring shorted out and nearly electrocuted me while I was driving back in 1998. I kept it knowing that I would always have roof over my head if I needed one. I lived in it for a while, and almost died in it a few times, driving too fast, too reckless, or with too many brittle, frayed wires inside the steering column. Most of all, I kept it because it was the last reminder of “anywhere in five minutes”, “the shortcut!”, Bonny Doon, Davenport, and Big Sur. It was the nexus of all the people and places that I have known and loved. As silly as it sounds, I’ll miss it.
This entry was posted
on Monday, March 20th, 2006 at 9:26 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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