Good-bye Old Friend

As some of you know, Mr. boom ornery's 1997 Toyota Camry has finally retired to that great junkyard in the sky last Sunday. I would like to take a moment to eulogize his car. Unfortunately, Mr. ornery's is too broken up to do so himself.

A photo of the car in its glory days has accompanied the following words. (Actually, it’s the car’s cousin, but close enough.) I was hoping to provide the best-looking photograph of a car that has long since passed its glory days.

Although the car had hundreds of thousand miles logged and featured a cracked windshield, it served Mr. ornery well. In fact, it served all of us well. In its final weekend, it decided to travel three and a half hours one way to Pennsylvania for a final skiing trip before its death. John Hegarty and his sore thighs are forever grateful.

For years, the Camry allowed Mr. ornery to issue a low monthly payment and in the most recent of years, no monthly payment. That freed Mr. ornery to use the extra money on ass-hugging slacks from Banana Republic, travel money to visit friends in Houston and to enjoy, but not necessarily master, expensive hobbies such as skiing and golfing.

For everything the Camry lacked in aesthetic beauty, it made up for in allowing Mr. ornery to look good, feel good and perform good. The ladies of Central Ohio are ever so thankful.

So, the next time a pint is poured at your favorite local drinking establishment, raise it to the sky in honor of the Toyota Camry. May it rest in peace. We look forward to another 300,000 miles in a 2007 version.