Farewell to a Family Member

It is with bitter sweet memories that we said goodbye to you today. Bitter because we made one heck of a lot of family memories together, and sweet because I GET MY GARAGE BACK! We've thought of you as one of the family and please know, it was very difficult to finally make the big decision. YOU, our big, red 1989 Ford Aerostar Extended Cab Van had to go.

You resided with us for 20 years and provided us with over 207,071 miles of rides. You drove us to California, Nevada, Arizona and all over Utah numerous times. You even took us to Craters of the Moon in Idaho once. Do you remember the time Grandpa J and I decided to take a trip to St. George and extended it to Las Vegas? It was during that trip that the kids got worried about us and called the cops. They put an APB out on you and Grandpa J and me. It's funny we drove all over the southern end of Utah in you, this huge red box, and NOT ONCE did the cops stop us.

You helped us make one of the most memorable trips when Grandpa J made us go to Lehman Caves one afternoon. He promised we'd only be gone a couple of hours. We rode the whole way grouchier than heck with you and ended up laughing our heads off. We made it home after 3 a.m.! The kids each have their own version of that little outing and it's fun to tell that story over and over again.

You were rear-ended once and you slammed me and my friend backwards into a telephone pole too. You always made my heart skip a dozen beats when you showed off by turning 360s on the ice in the middle of busy intersections and in mall parking lots.

You went camping in the Uintas and at Duck Creek. You took us to the Manti Pageant and hauled zillions of scouts to camp. You took us to Swiss Days and the Roberts' Family Reunion. You took us to church every Sunday and to all our meetings during the week, and you took me to work.

We slept in you. You helped us move. We laughed and cried with you. We fought in you. You hauled weeds, stuff for wedding receptions, and full sheets of plywood and sheet rock. You worked like a TRUCK!

The kids learned to drive with you even though you were a five-speed. That was hard!

You roasted us when your air conditioner refused to work for years and we froze to death when your heater finally gave up the ghost.

You stranded us coming back from Goblin Valley when the radiator overheated. That's when my life played before my eyes. I thought we were "GONNERS" when a Hippi-looking, motorcycle-riding, knife-wielding, scarey dude came to our rescue. I remember you quit on me and left me stranded in the middle of State Street on a hot summer day during rush hour. You left the oldest son stranded at a ski resort when he went skiing and you got stuck. How come you did all that to us, anyway?

We paid you back when we spilled a crock pot full of chili beans in the back end taking a corner a might bit too fast. WHEW! I still remember you stinking for years after that! And, speaking of stinking, because you were so big, more than once a gallon of milk slid from the back end and hid under one of those seats of yours until it turned to yogurt in the hot summer heat. I always wondered if you were playing games with our minds when we didn't get home with all the groceries.

Yes, farewell old and faithful family member! It hardly seems fair we got $150 for you after so many years of faithful service. But it should be okay. You should enjoy your new home with Senor Sanchez. He searched you out on Craig's list and called us within 2 hours. He must have wanted you badly. Maybe we'll see you around. May you serve him as faithfully as you served us!