My Car – Squirt

I’ve had Squirt for almost three years now. He is my very first car. I went so long without one that I was so glad to get him when I did. I named him Squirt after the little turtle in the movie Finding Nemo. I thought about naming him “The Black Pearl” after the boat in Pirates of the Carribean, because of what he represents, freedom. But he’s a white car, not a black car, so Squirt was also a “nautical” name. It fits him too. He’s a little car with lots of gumption. I drove him out to Indiana and back in 2004. Last summer I took him out to California with me and I finally got to cross Nevada off my list of states to visit. And at Thanksgiving I drove him out to Texas and back.

I had a lot of fun on those road trips. I’d much rather drive than fly any way. But it was me, Squirt, and the road. What more does a person need? That was freedom. That was adventure. Unfortunately after my last adventure got a little too adventuresome when my tire almost broke off on my way back from Texas (I blame the cell phone. If I hadn’t had a cell phone and been able to call for help I wouldn’t have needed to. I didn’t have a cell phone for my other two trips and I didn’t have any problems on them. It’s the cell phone I tell you) nobody will let me drive him on a road trip any more. The CD player also started eating CDs on that last trip. I had to sing real loud to myself the first tank of gas till I could un-stick the CD and get the radio working again.

He’s a 4 cylinder car. Which means I had to turn the air conditioning off when I was getting on the freeway so I’d have enough juice to get going fast enough. But once he was going, he did real well. I would pass faster looking cars just to make him feel good.
And he turns like a dream. I can turn a U-turn on any road.

He’s all the car a person could ask for and we have some great memories together. The things I’ve done with that car – it’s been great.

But since nobody will trust me to drive him on a road trip any more, even though I’d have no problem with it, I started looking for a new one. Today I went and test drove a bunch to see if I could find one I like. I’ve narrowed it down to three. And now I’m feeling all kinds of guilt about betraying Squirt. It feels like I’m trading in a child. I hope he knows how much I’ve enjoyed the last almost three years, all the places we’ve been, all the memories we’ve had. I hope he doesn’t feel rejected when I eventually give someone else the key and leave him at the lot. I hope he finds a new home and they treat him well and take care of him. He really is a good car. I don’t know what I would’ve done the last three years without him.