RIP

Sad news tonight. That's right - my cousin's Tercel has gone to that giant car show in the sky. You know the one, where all the cars are in mint condition and everyone oohs and aahs over every car - even the Tercels.

I bought the Tercel new in 1995. Just out of school and poor (although I felt wealthy at the time), the best car I could afford featured vinyl seats and crank windows. Stick shift. No power steering. No rear-view mirror on the passenger side. No frills.

The Tercel was with me for some great adventures. We saw the view at the Grand Canyon, went camping at the Outer Banks, took in a Grateful Dead concert, and hauled lots of friends over those 11 years. It was with me in NC, Dallas, NC, LA, again in NC, then MD, and finally VA. It was even in a movie - the remake of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. I was a background stunt driver on that film.

The day I surprised my cousin, Forest, in Iowa with the Tercel was pretty cool. Grandma was still alive then. She was so happy that day. I'll never forget it, not just because I got to do something cool for Forest but because it was one of my last special visits with Grandma. I miss her. RIP.

Update on 3/15/2012:

Details about the Tercel's ending in Minnesota:

Forest Cochran

I was on my way with a couple friends to see a group called odd future in minneapolis, and we broke down on exit 26 in minnesota, which was one mile from a town called ellensdale. I actually had to pull off to the shoulder on 35 because it made a really terrible sound, and a trooper ended up pushing us on the shoulder all the way to the next exit and into the parking lot of the nearby gas station. Needless to say, we were unable to go to the show, but we got a little exercise walking into town and we hung out at a bar for a couple hours until we walked back to the gas station and waited for my dad to pick us up and bring us back to des moines.