How To Become a Former Driver
Breaking up is not so hard to do. Just don’t forget the Real ID
I had a long-running love affair with the Volvo S40. Initially, The Lilypad (above) was a 2000 model that came into my life in 2015 and held my heart until it was demolished by a 16-wheeler. The giant truck was turning right from the center lane and unaware of The Lilypad and me down below. I survived (good reflexes) but The Lilypad, alas, did not.
After The Lilypad was towed away my good friends at PM Volvo — where my husband and I spent a lot of time and money for several decades — thoughtfully introduced me to a 2001 S40 they happened to have for sale.
Thus The Bud Car came into my life, in 2020. This was soon after my good husband had died, and in a naming contest, The Bud won hands down. (It was submitted by a 9-year-old family friend who said “… so you can take Bud out for a drive any time you want.”) We had a pleasant relationship for a couple of years.
But by the late summer of 2022, I felt my vaunted reflexes and Macular Degeneration-afflicted eyes were unlikely to get better. It was time to consider parting with The Bud Car. I wrote a Medium piece about these thoughts, and mysteriously came up with the headline Should You Still Be Driving? The piece was potted by a friend, which prompted a quick sale…
