A Death In The Family
1.10.7
I've been struggling with this for almost two weeks now. The memory of what happened is burned into my mind. I've tried to forget it, but...I just can't.
Now, I'm just trying to focus on the good times.
She always made me so happy, and she was always there for me when I needed her. She never let me down. Not even once. Some of my greatest recent memories are of the trip I took her on last July to the Great Northwest, and how much fun it had been.
I wish I had taken more pictures back then.
It's just not fair. It wasn't her time, you know? She hadn't had the chance to do all the things she was supposed to do.
I thought about all of these things as I held her out there in the middle of the blizzard. What would I do without her?
I did everything I could for her. I kept talking to her, just hoping she would make it through this, like all the other times...but she didn't. She died out there on that cold morning. I'm only glad I got to be with her in her final moments.
I remember the sound she made at the end. It was like a...
It was like a loud clunk. And then a clickety-clickety-click, and then it was over. Her transmission had practically exploded rendering it completely useless.
A car's final breakdown has always felt somewhat like a death in the family to me. There's some sadness, then a lot of paperwork and fees, and eventually you find acceptance. Albeit, the intensity of all three is greatly reduced.
Still...this was a 2005 Hyundai Elantra. It was too new for this shit to be happening. The worst part was that, due to the severity of the damage, the work wasn't going to be covered under warranty (The differential casing was shattered, and they apparently found one of the gears about a foot and a half away from where it should have been).
Admittedly, I had been trying to rock the car out of a snowed in parking spot, but I certainly wasn't doing anything crazy like the dealership insisted. They claimed that I had to have thrown it from drive into reverse at around 4,500 RPMs to do that kind of damage. That was obviously shit. But that's life, isn't it? Shit happens sometimes. There was nothing I could say or do to change their mind about how gentle I had or had not been. Of course, with my luck, I wasn't all that surprised by their diagnosis.
All in all, I think the biggest shock in all of this was just how prepared I really was to handle the situation. I realized through this ordeal how secure and stable I am these days.
I didn't worry, I didn't get angry...I just took care of it. I traded her in, and ended up buying a brand new car: A 2007 Hyundai Elantra.
In the end, everything worked out, and I ended up with a beautiful new car that almost makes me forget about the old (and I use that word lightly) one.
Still...I will miss her. At least for a little while. So...
...rest in peace, Elantra. Until we meet again...
