the blue car

She? He? It never was given a proper name.  We always just referred to it as The Blue Car.

Here's its life story:

Right before we were to be wed, Aaron was driving in downtown Auburn ((A-Town represent!)) and saw it on a side street.  It sat upon a dolly looking like it was ready for transport....and looking for a new owner.

Aaron went and knocked on the door of the house it was parked in front of.  He quickly found out that it belonged to a guy named Johnny, who would be willing to part with it.  That got Aaron and his Volvo addiction excited.  He had me call and talk to Johnny later that evening, "'cause you're a girl and can get a better deal."

I can't remember much about the phone call, but I do remember we agreed to meet the next evening around 9, and giving him a mere $200 for the beautiful piece of metal.

I will now attempt to paint you a worded picture of what Johnny was like.

-we were waiting for him to show.
-he pulls up in a 1980-something, Trans-am t-top.
-he steps out and we could hear 1980's metal rock flowing out of the speakers.
-Johnny himself was wearing skinny jeans that he probably bought off the shelves in 1986.  he was also sporting a sweet jean jacket.
-oh, and he had an amazing permed mullet.
-amazing.

We get out of our vehicle and meet him and make small talk about the Volvo.  He shared with us stories about road trips he'd taken in it, concerts he followed around, and other stories that will remain locked in my forgotten memory because of how slimy they are.

We hand over the cash that probably went towards Johnny's next hair appointment, and the rest is Volvo history.

That was 2001.  It sat for a few years while Aaron slowly began to acquire the parts needed to get it in running condition.  And to look pretty.  He did a nice job of restoring it, he even sewed the interior. He is a man of many hidden talents.

We've driven it on and off for the past few years, it was even Aaron's daily driver to and from work for awhile before he got a sacred spot on the Van Pool.

The Blue Car's been a good car.

This summer we took it to Moclip's where we had a little getaway for our 10 year wedding anniversary.

It was our last hurrah in the beautiful piece of blue metal.

  We knew the time had come for us to sell it off to the next Volvo lover.  Why?  Well, because we had three vehicles.  And the other Volvo we own will be the one Aaron is buried in, so the Blue Car didn't really stand a chance of survival.

We posted it on craigslist and got a nibble that didn't hold, but then we got two huge bites on the same day, just 15 minutes apart.

This is a photo from the last day we owned that beautiful piece of blue metal. I was at my mom's house and Aaron had called to let me know that we had sold it. The dad and son were going to get the cash and meet up later. It was bittersweet and a tear or two slid down my cheek. Stupid, crazy Volvo love.

I was a little worried that the kid who was buying it would be a punk and not take care of our Blue Car. But after Aaron showed me the picture he took of the happy, new owner, all my fears vanished. That kid has the gleam of the same stupid, crazy Volvo love.