What an adventurous day I have had today dealing with Seabiscuit. I have affectionately named my car Seabiscuit. How did I happen upon the notion of naming my car? There is a hilarious show on National Public Radio called "Car Talk". It is hosted by Click and Clack The Tappet Brothers aka Tom and Ray Magliozzi.Tom and Ray are professional auto mechanics in real life who offer their expertise in diagnosing car problems as their personas The Tappet Brothers on the air every Saturday morning. During one very funny episode, one of The Tappet Brothers suggested the female caller should give her car a name. If the car had a name, the caller could bond with her car and perhaps take it to the auto shop when it was symptomatic.
Why did I choose the name Seabiscuit? Seabiscuit was a race horse who despite having several physical and emotional disabilities,(the horse was described as having wobbly knees, being skittish, nervous and hard to work with) won the 1938 Pimlico. According to the Car Fax Report on my car, it was once a rental car. While it was under the ownership of a rental car company, it was involved in several accidents. The front end had been damaged in one accident. In another accident, the driver side door was damaged and had to be replaced. Despite all of the previous history, Seabiscuit was dependable. He never left me stranded.
Sadly, Seabiscuit is in a coma. The last time I drove Seabiscuit was on Sunday, July 5. Four days, I left my car parked and biked around town on my hybrid electric bike aka Mandy. On Thursday, July 9, I attempted to start the car. It would not start. I had an early morning meeting to attend. Mandy came through for me. Although I was not dressed in my biking gear, I rode my bike in my casual business attire to the meeting. After returning home from the meeting, I called a tow truck and had the car towed to the auto shop.
On Friday, the auto shop gave me Seabiscuit's diagnosis. The fuel pump, fuel regulator and steering column all needed to be replaced. The estimated cost: $1,546. Friday evening, I rode Mandy to the auto shop, called a tow and had Seabiscuit towed back home.
I don't want to seem shallow and ungrateful to Seabiscuit for being so good to me. As my bank account would dictate, I could not afford the $1,546 repair. Herein, is the crux of the situation. I secretly long to be free of the bondage of car insurance, car repairs, car taxes, and dependence on crude oil. Among the people I admire, are the cyclists I see commuting to work daily. Therefore, I have made my decision. While, Seabiscuit sits in a suspended state of unconciousness, I will be riding around town on Mandy.
There is hope for Seabiscuit to have a new life. I visited the Car Talk website. On the website, there was a link for vehicle donations: http://www.v-dac.com/cartalk
I filled out the form online. I decided to donate Seabiscuit to my local public radio station: WFPL-89.3 Seabiscuit will live on in my memories and this blog.
(Click on the title "Car Saga..." for a link to a special treat.)
Copyright 2009, Michelle I. Peterson. Some rights reserved.
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