bye bye

bye bye, originally uploaded by pr9000.

After seven years of use, my beloved Beetle is on the market.

It's served me well over that time, though at first I didn't want it. Amina and I went to the Autohaus in Evanston, Ill., because I wanted a VW, and because I loved that name -- "das Autohaus." I think it was the "haus" part that got me; it sounded so authentic, as though the Teuton hordes invaded Evanston and set up a little bit of Bavaria, right on Lake Michigan.

I wanted to get a stripped-down Golf, but she talked me into looking for something that might have a little more pizazz and creature comforts. We lucked into this Beetle, and as crazy as it seemed for me to be making car payments while living in a 700-square-foot apartment, we drove it home, down Green Bay Road, on a rainy Tuesday night in November 2000. I don't know that we had elected a president yet, but I do know that I burned a CD of songs -- I wanted the first songs played on the radio to be ones that meant something to me.

(The disc started out with "Homer's Barbershop Quartet," from "The Simpsons," followed by "No Matter What" by Badfinger. I can't remember the rest, but I still have the CD in the car.)

We took the car to St. Louis (see here and here) and it served admirably, though we did have some issues with those goddamn squirrels running hither and yon, using the Beetle as a staging ground for their raids on the bird food. It was a great car for St. Louis -- hell, it was a great car for Chicago as well. It was cute, our house was cute, we were cute ... it all went together.

Once we got to Minneapolis, I leaned heavily on the local bus system to get me to work downtown, and I think the Beetle began to feel a little neglected. Amina showed it less and less love, mainly because it's a stick and that made it harder for her to drive. And even though it's a tank in the snow, we went the SUV route to fit in with our fellow Minnesotans.

Now it's time for the Beetle to go to its next owner. I'm sure that person will treat it well; for me, I'll be sad to see it go. It's been a big part of my life for seven years, and looking at it reminds me of when I fell in love with my wife, and our lives together since then. But all things must pass, as George Harrison wrote.

Someone please buy the damn car, okay?