Famous Last Words

"I think my disposable car will last another year!" I raved in a recent post.

Wrong.

It sputtered to a smoke-spewing stop three feet from the Sears Automotive Center at the Tacoma Mall. Never mind the smoke spewing and the sputtering. Did you catch the part about my car dying right in front of the Sears Automotive Center? I really am a ridiculously lucky person. Years ago when I was in photography school in Santa Barbara, I drove up a remote mountain pass somewhere around Ojai. As the sun was starting to set, I packed up the 4 x 5 camera I never made friends with and got ready for the 45 minute drive home. Only my car wouldn't start. And it was starting to get dark- and I was on a pretty remote mountain pass. Keep in mind this was in the days before cell phones. Five minutes into my quandry, a car pulled up. The driver was a mechanic. He fixed my car. Off I went.

The Sears guys first checked the oil. It was full. They sniffed and poked at a few other things (ew, that sounded gross, didn't it?) before deciding it was the transmission. Or as they first put it "This isn't good."

It's not that bad either. As mentioned, it was a disposable car. Eleven months of driving for approximately $1,500 isn't bad.

They pushed my deceased Buick into a parking space and I took a bus home. Now I have to figure out how one disposes of a disposable car. I'm hoping someone will tow it away and pay me a few dollars for parts. I'll have to ask around at work tomorrow to see how this is done. Needless to say, I'll be walking to work. Yet another reason why I love living one mile from my place of employment.