Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

Today, I buy a new (old) car. I finally found a car yesterday in my price range that still meets all the criteria: Runs great, looks like crap. The experience was one to remember. I by no means am a car expert, and so I took a youth deacon who does know a thing or two with me. We ended up "talking the guy down" $300, but this can by no means be credited to myself. I am in fact quite possibly the WORST "wheeler and dealer" in North America and probably the Western Hemisphere. I end up feeling so bad for the person that I would almost give them a little extra. Horrible experience. My accomplice claims to have almost lowered the price another $100 when I completely caved, tears welling up (metaphorically speaking).

This story is two-fold however, if you know the piece of crap that I've been driving since I was 16 - The Jackpot. With nearly 400,000 miles on it, The Jackpot has lived a good long life. At one point I named the car "The Bumblebee" because nearly everything in the car vibrated to the point of back massage. This problem has persisted, but a new set of problems arose. One day, nearly every light in my dash started flashing and enough bells for a sleigh started going off. No apparent reason for this commotion, none at all really. This is the day my car earned the name "The Jackpot". A while after that, my headlights started not working on me unless I would hold my "brights" on with my hand. After a few dark and mysterious convenience store runs in which the only time I had lights was to warn other people I was there, I extended the name of my car to "The Batmobile Hit The Jackpot" or just "Batman Hit The Jackpot", I can't remember which. Eventually this phase of my car ended (on its own I think) and it went back to just being "The Jackpot". These days, The Jackpot smokes and leaks profusely, dies intermittently, only cools the passengers occasionally, and sometimes takes five minutes to even start up!

Yesterday as I drove out with my car-knowledgeable-friend, The Jackpot did none of these things. No smoke, amazing AC, no lights or dinging, started up the first time EVERY time - it was truly a model car. It knew I was looking at something else, I swear it. My car hasn't run that well in months. But I made an offer to pay and pick up the new car today for I know these things will not last. As I was exiting my car to go inside for the night, just as I shut the door my car started making a siren type noise (only from the inside and the first time for the day) as if to yell, "PLEASE DON'T SELL ME TO A JUNKYARD". The Jackpot has a mind of its own. I shall indeed miss it.