Trusty

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Yesterday when I dropped off my car at the Vo-Tech Auto shop for an oil change, I saw my Trusty for the first time in more than a year. I ran over to her, threw my arms around her, and wept.

Trusty was my beloved Ford Escort 1994 that I bought in 2004 from a church lady who had done scrupulous maintenance. "Trusty" was a great name for that little hatchback. She ran like a charm from the day I bought her to the day my daughter The Heir totaled her in an accident.

I plastered Trusty with bumper stickers praising Druidism, the First Amendment, Tinker Bell, and H.L. Mencken.

Today Trusty no longer has her bumper stickers. Her seats have been removed, as have the door panels. There's a plate of steel welded to the side where she was hit, presumably to stabilize her frame.

Trusty has become a teaching tool at the Vo-Tech. I donated her to the school. The other day one of my students told me that his teacher used Trusty to show how automatic windows work.

The teacher who uses Trusty is a former employee of the Ford Motor Company. He says he got teary-eyed when he heard Ford would no longer produce Escorts. He said that the Escort was one of the best economy cars Ford ever made, if not the best.

Call me weird, but I form attachments to certain inanimate objects. I loved Trusty like you love your cat or dog. Seeing her sitting there behind the school, battered but still serving a noble use ... well, reader, I wept.

I'm glad it was 7:00 in the morning, with no one else around except the geese on the football field.

Dear Trusty. Long may you run.