To Sheila with Love by Adam Rich

To Sheila with Love

by Adam Rich 

They just don't make cars like they used to! I recently had the privilege to not only drive but own one of the last remaining holdovers from a nearly forgotten era. The era of the station wagon.

No doubt any of you over the age of 30 most likely have some memory of one of these gentle giants from your youth.

Well, I managed to pick up an '89 Mercury Colony Park recently, in great running condition. With a tuneup and a little TLC, my baby beast was a boat afloat, and I couldn't have enjoyed the ride more. Sheila, she was called, and she sailed smoother than any vehicle I've owned previously.

If you can imagine cruising down the highway while sitting on your couch, you begin to understand the experience of sailing Sheila along at about 80 mph. And you just can't beat a bench seat, especially a split bench seat with independent electronic controls. Pure Luxury, as a friend of mine would say. And, now Sheila sleeps, on a brand new front suspension, amongst a sea of sedans and coupes, a behemoth among compact cars, with an uncertain future.

A sadder story I know not, and should my sockets possess the power, I promise a solitary tear would streak my cheek in remembrance of a mighty machine that, though I may have only had for what amounts to mere moments in the course of a lifetime, has found a home in and will forever cruise the highways of my heart.

Zoom ... Zoom ~~~~