Last Days Of An Old Companion.

It seems a vehicle I've long driven is about to leave the stage. It's a 1994 Chrysler Caravan minivan my father purchased new as part of his job at the time, which was doing repair work for cash registers and related equipment at various Hudson Bay stores in Saskatchewan. (Ironically he was hired on to do exactly the same job he had been doing as an employee of the Bay before they decided to contract out the service in the early '90s.) Over the years we've put more than 277,600 kilometers on it, or 177,500 miles, if you prefer. But it's finally gotten to the point where it probably needs to go. It has a banged up front driver's side from an accident I had with it a few years back. The hinges of the driver's side door, which had to be rewelded even before the accident, have come loose again, and the door itself doesn't close properly without some force. The paint is peeling on the hood, roof, and elsewhere, and there is more and more rust appearing in various places. But most importantly the engine, the heart of any vehicle, is sounding more and more like it's about to give up the ghost, and repairing it wouldn't be worth the money given the general decay of the rest of the van. And frankly like the SUVs on the road it's making less and less sense economically to keep driving it. We have made use of its cargo capacity over the years, but even that really isn't enough reason for us to keep using it. So within the next month or two we will likely look for some way of disposing of it. I"ll miss it, as it's served us well.