where Alcatraz has taken me

I bought Alcatraz Prizm in February, 1996. I was 23 years old and working at Better Communications and, well, pretty unhappy. As you already know, I paid $10,400 for him. My monthly payments were $228, and I paid him off in five years. He was a leftover 1995, so I didn't really get any choices on options and such. Power nothing. No power windows, no power doors, no air conditioning, even NO POWER STEERING. My arm muscles have been built up over the past 11 1/2 years, and now that I have power steering, my arms might start jiggling or something.

I took him home to an apartment in Brighton, MA.

One year into owning him, we were rear-ended on the way home from work. The body shop fixed him up real good, so good that the paint on the ass end was better than the original paint, so for the last four years or so, he's been two-toned. Pink with a red ass. And, let's be honest, a wee bit of rust.

When I took the job at Readak, Alcatraz was really put to work. I drove him from Massachusetts to Appleton, Wisconsin.

From Appleton to Dearborn, Michigan.

From Dearborn to Cincinnati.

From Cincinnati to Lincoln, Nebraska.

From Lincoln to Minot, North Dakota (with a 9-hour stay at a gas station in a South Dakota blizzard thrown in).

From Minot to Minneapolis (not to teach but to visit the Mall of America with Keita).

From Minneapolis back to Massachusetts.

From Massachusetts to Hershey, PA.

From Hershey, PA to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

From Beaver Dam back to Massachusetts.

Then Alcatraz had a 3-month rest while I went to Barcelona for my final (thank god!) Readak teaching assignment. He stayed in a friend's garage in Holyoke, MA.

When I returned from Spain, we settled in to attend graduate school in Boston.

Many trips back and forth from Newton, MA to Littleton, MA, where my boyfriend lived.

Then I was off to grad school in Syracuse for four years, during which time we drove back to Massachusetts many many times.

And finally, the 16-hour drive to Normal, IL in August 2004. Since that time, Alcatraz had entered what you might call early retirement. He wasn't pushed quite so hard, and he continued to serve me well despite a few obvious signs of aging.

But the most important thing about this car was that it was what I drove to bring home the Annabelly girl from the Central New York SPCA on May 30, 2002. She had many many many rides in the car and she was always such a good girl. She loved that car. Her nose marks were all over the windows, her hair all over the entire car all the time. I admit to being very sad last night that Belly didn't get a chance to say goodbye.

I was 23 when I bought it. I'm now almost 35. Holy jesus h. on a popsicle stick. That's adult.

That car was part of my identity. My fantastic bumpersticker, "Dog is my co-pilot" made me easy to spot. It was emotional last night saying goodbye. I know that sounds kinda cheesy, but it's true. It was my first (and probably will be my only) brand new car, and you might say I grew up in it.

I grew up so much, in fact, that the car I now "own" (loan) is incredibly grown-up. It's on the verge of luxury, I have to say. It's no kid's car. It's beige, not red. All the windows work. Air conditioning is fab.u.lous. And it's got a button to pop the trunk. All of these things, to my mind, indicate luxury.

I already miss my car in a strange way. I should've taken more pictures of it.

35. Drives a Honda Civic EX. Lives in a very suburban-ish neighborhood. Is officially ADULT.