whinnie

i was doing fine until kaz dropped me off at ok tire this afternoon.  but then my heart skipped a beat when i saw her.  sometimes it's like that when i see her in a parking lot or catch a glimpse of her on the side of the road.  there she is, that's my car, i smile to myself.  but this time i wasn't taking her home.  this time i was there with a box and some garbage bags to clean her out.

mom and dad gave me whinnie for my graduation present.  i wasn't expecting a present let alone a car.  at the time i thought i would probably not have a car for a really long time.  part of what made whinnie so special was the sweet and unexpected way she was given to me.  here's what i wrote about it in my old diaryland blog.


big soo-PRIZE
Saturday, May. 15, 2004 - 12:36 a.m.
well i got a big surprise when i got here this afternoon. (here as in nanaimo) i had to do a thirty clue scavenger hunt. thirty because of my age. bean n pea helped. first we had a clue in the front yard, then in the back... back and forth back and forth. i realized this was a pretty big soo-prize when dough and del came over to watch me find it. i had no idea what it would be.... and i'll have to finish this tomrrow because i need to tell fhats in person, well voice to voice.

a new car
Saturday, May. 15, 2004 - 10:28 p.m.
right now i'm the fullest i've ever been in my life. and yet i'm eating some icecream. i can't help it. it's reces. it's been a full day of girl's day. we wrote and illustrated stories. we made pizza and we went to parksville. i got sarah and the twins to do a line dance to a shaniah twain song about girls not being just a pretty face. they practiced and practiced in the parking lot. these guys who dug them watched from their sporty red car.
speaking of cars. i got one. that was my present! when i got my last clue it was a card with a set of keys in it. it said i got whatever it started. i went upstairs and out on the lawn was a car with a big blue bow wrapped around it. it's a chevy cavelier and i named her whinnie. i think. i was totally in shock, because i was never expecting that kind of present for my gradutation. i used to be a poor kid from a poor family. taking a long time to graduate has it's rewards. well, gotta leave.
ps. dad was really excited to give me the car. he washed it inside and out and he told me he thought it could help me find a job and make me happy on days when i'm feeling down.

one month later i had a new job

Friday, Jun. 04, 2004 - 6:58 a.m.


well i got up at six fourty five to have a shower. katrina had the same idea apparently. and since my appointment's not until nine thirty, i let her go first. but it kills me. really kills me. ya so randal called me yesterday afternoon to tell me about this job lead with richmond mental health yesterday. he said he was over there for something and he was asking if they were hiring because he knew someone was going on maternity leave, and the people were like "well we've been doing interviews the last couple of days" and he was like "oh yah..." and continued on his way. then dave, the exec. director asked him to come in to his office....
i'll have to finish later. i gotta go!

Friday, Jun. 04, 2004 - 3:15 p.m.


so the thing is the guy dave asked randy if he had a friend looking for a job and randy told me about it and i called him and he called me back and he asked me to come in today and i sent him my resume, and he phoned me to give me some tips on my resume and and i came in at nine thirty, had an interview and then later dave called and basically i got the job.

Tuesday, Jun. 08, 2004 - 10:22 p.m.


first day at new job = tired laura. second day at new job = tired happyhopeful laura. basically i think it's a place i could really likelove. but this is all i can divulge at this time because quite frankly, i must sleep.

and i did/do like/love it and i couldn't have gotten it without having a car.  whinnie helped me get a job.  she gave me freedom and independence.  i've gone on so many road trips with her.  california coast, oregon coast, calgary, utah, william's lake, kelowna, vernon, shushwap, and more.  i believe her first road trip was the infamous krispy kreme, burger king, cold stone creamery everett wa, trip with heather, linda, karey, me and chandra all squeezed into my car.


i may have kept a bar of strawberry soap in whinnie for 4 years (it lost it's smell) and i may have balked at getting her brakes fixed until i absolutely had to and i may have left her tires so bald one of them exploded on the highway outside of ladysmith one dark stormy december night, and i may have not ever fixed her passenger side windshield wiper and i may have grown mushrooms and one delecate green sprout from her carpeted floor, but i did totally love her.  she became an extension of myself.  i wore her for my winter coat.  i sped her up the curb alleys of granville street, speeding up especially for the humps, and singing at the top of my lungs, feeling carefree and hopeful and happy.  i loaded her up and loaded her down with groceries and boxes and camping gear and moving stuff. we gave people rides and went exploring to new places.  in the summer she was an oven of radiating heat.  the first thing i would do was get inside and roll down both windows.  her doors were long and awkward and it sometimes swung back and slammed me.  she was backed into 3 times and was in one minor accident when a lady pulled out in front of  me from a parking lot as i was driving down alderbridge rd.  as dad said, she had some kick.  i dated in her, broke up in her, and slept in her when i had nowhere else i felt safe to sleep.  i said some good prayers in her. 


 i loved her and like most things i love, i wore her out i guess.  her blah blah chain broke on sunday and damaged the engine.  i emptied her out this afternoon and said goodbye.  a junkyard gave me 200 for her.  i felt like i was sending my pet to the vet to be euthanized.  i'm so grateful to have had her.  i feel like one of my limbs is gone.  i'm at a loss without her.  


some memories i've had with whinnie:
oregon coast

calgree

 wreck beach in february and march
whinnie's roof giving me a reflextion
 china beach

 

caly-forn-nai-ay






Comments

LeashyLoo said…
Awww....Laursie.....I love your ODE to Whinnie. She had a good life and she was good to you and you to her. We had some good times in her....we squeezed a red-faced screaming crying babe of mine in her.....she was awesome. Hope you took pics of her...
Karey said…
that made my eyes water lol. You forgot to add scratching the roof when you went through a yellow light and the dark spot on your ceiling from it :)

Whinnie was a good faithful car. Sad she is gone.
Andrea said…
Did you know that is what Grandma named her green dodge truck? Only it was Winnie, short for Winston. Sorry Whinnie is gone. We had a summer of car problems and ended up getting a loan which I have never had before. BTW, you probably already know this now... but you're supposed to replace the timing belt every 100,000 km's to prevent that from happening. That's the same thing that happened to Eryn's car.
Delanie C said…
Awwwwww. Sorry for your loss :(
Beth-a-knee said…
Awww I'm going to miss Whinnie! She was a part of you. Sad. :(
Sarah-Lynn said…
My first trip in whinnie was that trip to the temple where I had to sit in the middle between Katie and Kyle. She was hard on my tail bone. It's true there have been many good memories that Whinnie has been a part of, and she will be missed.
Edi said…
aww, your car is gone :( fun trips in that car
amyleigh said…
That's a sad loss! I'm gonna miss Whinnie. I too have many memories in her as a content passenger. I also remember how exited mom and dad were to give her to you. that was a good day.