"Thought For the Day"

[Cyber]

If a product is ten times better than the leading brand, why isn't it the leading brand?

[AluraMist]

If a product is ten times better than the leading brand, why isn't it the leading brand?

Good question ---

[AluraMist]

Comparison is the best way to measure our progress.
But not with others. Compare your yesterday with your today.
Good Morning!

[AluraMist]

What a beautiful, sunny day it is!

[AluraMist]

Saying goodbye is sometimes a part of life.
It’s tough, but I still have the memories.
Said "bye bye" to my 1997 Ford Escort yesterday.

[Jonathan Greenflame]

Saying goodbye is sometimes a part of life.
It’s tough, but I still have the memories.
Said "bye bye" to my 1997 Ford Escort yesterday.

Ain't it funny how we can develop a bond with a mechanical object almost like it's a living, breathing being? I've done it myself and hated to see it go but had to remind myself that it's just a thing.

[Pegasus Unbound]

Saying goodbye is sometimes a part of life.
It’s tough, but I still have the memories.
Said "bye bye" to my 1997 Ford Escort yesterday.

Wow, this is so very true and unless you "have been there" you wont really understand. I am positive that the list of memories you have from you beloved car is very, VERY long. Did you keep any part of it as a memento?

I have 2 vehicles I am completely "bonded" to:

About 10 years ago, we needed a vehicle to use for our housing restoration work. We found a 1993 Toyota Previa that looked good and ran "OK" and were able to buy it for $1K. We spend another $1K to fix an old sensor and it suddenly ran like new. It has better power and gas performance than almost any other vehicle and still runs to this very day like it's new. My memories of all the houses I have restored and place families into thanks to this van are priceless.

The second one is older, LOL. In 1999 I found out my Father had cancer; I was still in Sacramento and he was here in Kansas. I spent a few months looking for something I could load everything up into and move to Kansas to be with him. I found an ugly (Someone has hand painted it red and black with a paint brush) old 1979 Ford Econoline van that had the interior stripped to just the driver and passenger seats. This thing was huge and perfect, so I made a great deal, bought it and drove that giant monster from Sacramento to Kansas (Almost 1,400 miles). It got 22mpg (Twin gas tanks that held 50 gallons) and I even was able to put a queen size bed and boxspring in the back. Having found it at all and for the specific reason I found it made it very special and it is sitting, right this minute, in the garage waiting for me to restore it. Fortunately, it has no, zero, zip, nada computer junk and all I need are pliers, screwdrivers, etc. to work on it...well, and some time and energy.

They, like so many other inanimate things really do become important just from the sake of memory.

Hugs,

Van

[AluraMist]

Ain't it funny how we can develop a bond with a mechanical object almost like it's a living, breathing being? I've done it myself and hated to see it go but had to remind myself that it's just a thing.

Wow, this is so very true and unless you "have been there" you wont really understand. I am positive that the list of memories you have from you beloved car is very, VERY long. Did you keep any part of it as a memento? ...

Hugs,
Van

Yes, it is true. They are just "things", but I do have "memories" attached that I won't let go, like Van shared. They make me smile. I have one very special story that I keep retelling to my family. I have to share it, but that is for another day.

The only thing that I kept is two photos that I took of it, just before it was towed away.

After all these years, it still runs good, but I told my family that I will no longer be driving. We usually donate our old cars to Amvets. But first, we ask if any family member needs a car. Turns out that a family member just totalled their car in an accident with a deer crossing the road. To avoid hitting the deer, she swerved, lost control of her car, and ending up hitting a tree. She is fine, and so is the deer. She is a single parent, with a 3 year old son, and she is 4 months pregnant. She had no means of transportation, to come and pick up the car, and I cannot drive, so we had the car towed to her home for her.

Can you see our Higher Powers at work here? So that's another positive memory that I will have too. Life is good.

[RookieRecurve]

Saying goodbye is sometimes a part of life.
It’s tough, but I still have the memories.
Said "bye bye" to my 1997 Ford Escort yesterday.

Oh no! What an amazing car they were. Affordable, reliable, and cheap to fix.

[AluraMist]

Oh no! What an amazing car they were. Affordable, reliable, and cheap to fix.

Yes they were. Every time I took the car in for repairs or maintenance, my mechanic would say "Come on. Let me drive you about one mile down the road to the Ford dealer. They are always running sales, and you can pick up a new car." I would say "No thanks, George. This car has been doing fine. Just fix her up and she will be okay." I used the same auto body shop for all those years too.