I Miss My Truck

My first car was a 1994 sky blue Toyota Tercel. It was a two door with black vinyl interior and a black rubbery steering wheel. It didn't have AC, the radiator was a piece of junk and the car constantly overheated, so I had to run the heat year round. It was like sitting inside a black trash bag on blacktop in August. But it was a good first car. I had that thing for ten years and would have kept it longer had it not been for all the repairs it needed.
  In 2007 I traded the Tercel in for a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero, beige with tan leather interior. Judging by the hand written notes in the car's manual it was previously owned by an elderly man in Florida. Yup, it was an old man car. It did have AC and at first I didn't have a single problem with it. One day on my way to work I got stuck in traffic and the car started to overheat. It was warm out and I was just idling so I opened all the windows, turned on the heat just a little and figured it wouldn't be an issue. I was wrong. I had that car for three years and everyday it seemed like there was a new issue. The headlights would stop working so I replaced fuse after fuse. The radiator would over heat so I started carrying a jug of water in the trunk. I think at one point the interior lights stopped working, too.
  The week before I was leaving for Basic the front calipers exploded and the car seized completely in the middle of a Walmart parking lot. Seriously?? To this day I regret buying that stupid car. I got the car fixed and left it in the parking lot at our apartment building. I had the parking pass, my tags and registration were up to date. While I was away at Basic the towing company that works for the apartment building ripped off the registration tags and towed it. We got it back when I came home for Christmas.
  When I got home from Basic and AIT I officially left my first husband (we shall call him Buttface) and moved in with friends. My car got towed from the street they live on a couple times. It started to severely overheat every time I drove it and eventually it got to the point that it wasn't worth keeping. Late in 2009 I went back to my Buttface. We ended up trading in the Alero for a 2003 Nissan XTerra. I fell in love with my with that truck.
  The XTerra had it's issues, once again the AC didn't work, but it didn't overheat. I'm not sure why I flipped over that truck the way I did. I was working full time for the Guard and my truck was moss green, it matched my uniform. I called it my Tank. It wasn't four wheel drive, it got stuck in the snow, I think one of the windows stopped working for a while, too. Didn't care, loved my truck!

A moss green 2003 Nissan XTerra. Mine had a Combat Medic sticker on the back window.

  When Buttface and I finally divorced in 2010 it was decided that though the truck was in his name I would keep it, continue to make the payments and refinance it into my name. The problem was the truck was too old and too high mileage and no one would refinance it for me. Buttface (the name I really call him is slightly more offensive and contains another part of the anatomy) really was a butt face. I explained to him that I was having a hard time with the refinancing, blah blah blah. No Go. He threw a fit about it, one of the reasons I divorced him, and refused to negotiate. By that point I was remarried to Brian and we decided to give up and just trade in the truck. I got a brand new 2011 Mitsubishi Galant. It's a good car, no issues at all, but it's just a car. I honestly cried a little when I had to say goodbye to my truck.

This is what I've got now. It's a really good car, it's just not as cool as my truck.

  I think the truck symbolized freedom to me. Even though it was in Buttface's name I maintained it. I was on my own for the first time and I had a bad ass truck. I used to load Ruby Dog into it and we would go explore the city. I had that truck when I got MY first apartment that was solely MINE. I was the only person on the lease. I had a bad ass truck, a cute little apartment, a great dog and I had started seeing an amazing guy. And, to be honest, I just felt cool when I drove it.
  Now we have the Galant, my little red, dependable car. the stroller doesn't fit in it so I don't drive it much. It doesn't even have 20,000 miles on it yet. The AC works, so do the windows, the radiator and the interior lights. It's got grey cloth interior and wood finish for the control panel. It's just not my XTerra.