On Saturday I went home (Monica came with) and went with Mom to the Honda dealership. We were going to look at Honda Odysseys. We were just supposed to look. But we got roped into buying (which was okay because mom got the deal she’d wanted anyway. I gotta hand it to her, the woman did her homework). And she traded mine in. El jefe. My car. My dad’s car. I got it after he died. His sunglasses were still clipped to the visor for goodness’ sake. I was NOT prepared to say goodbye so quickly. I know it’s just a car. But it was one more link I had. That sounds dumb. It isn’t. I don’t think. Anyway, we traded it in (after Monica helped me clean out the mounds of trash - though most of it was from my dad, haha. There was a newspaper in the trunk from like 2001), and I said goodbye. I didn’t even have my camera with me, so I had to rely on Monica’s camera phone to preserve memories. By the time we left I was nauseous. I was sad. I felt weird. It’s just a car, right? I dunno. So now I’m driving Mom’s old car (a Honda Accord), and although I love him (his name is Gumby) to pieces, I still miss El Jefe and can’t help comparing it to my steady old friend who ran like a dream for me, even though I rarely gave him baths. I’ll miss him. And like some odd sort of ceremony, the last thing I took out of my car was my daddy’s clip on sunglasses. And then promptly put them in the glove box in my “new” car. I know they weren’t there originally, but I’m not ready to let go. Never have been. Probably never will be. I miss him. And I miss El Jefe. Even if he was “just a car.”

My baby.

In the car dealership. It took FOR.EV.ER. 5 hours. FIVE HOURS I TELL YOU.

I miss you. Wherever you are, I hope you’re happy (and not chopped to pieces). Oh and see that trash bag to the side? That was an entire kitchen trash bag (that just happened to be in my back seat) full of trash from my car.

Sitting at the salesman’s desk. Nauseous.

My face for pretty much the rest of the ordeal. I even teared up at a few points. I felt dumb. But I was blindsided and emotional. Bleh.

El Jefe: A member of the Pitts family ~2000 to 2007. You’ll be missed, buddy. Gumby has some mighty big tires to fill.