Car
Ode to Car
Car is simply "Car."
And I love him.
Car is simply "Car."
And I love him.
He has done everything I ask of him, every time. He drives everywhere I want to go, at the speed we both like traveling at. He spends hours alone, and never complains. He goes out in any weather, and gets places safely. He always starts, and always stops when I ask. When we had a big tire blowout, traveling in excess of 70 mph, car gracefully let me pull him over to the side without mishap. No panic on his part. Car is my protector, my home away from home.
All the Gang greyhounds love Car.
Car is the first thing they know when they leave behind the life of crates, and slavery, and pain. He is their first haven. And they never forget that. They trust Car. They can be scared of everything around them, but they know that Car will protect them.
Say his name -- "Car" -- and they become jumping beans. "Yes, yes, yes." they say -- "Go in Car." If they at all think we are going to visit Car, they are ecstatic. When we walk around the yard, they always end the walk surrounding Car. Bobbing and weaving and saying, "Car, we want to go with you." They will chase Car down the driveway if Car tries to leave without them.
Car brings them immeasurable joy. Car protects and provides. He took them from their former lives, and gives them daily opportunities to experience new adventures. Car never disappoints.
Even though Car knows he is on his last legs, he doesn't stop. He might complain a little more, be a little slower to react, a little slower to get places, need more time to rest. But he's still always there. He'd never think to let the greyhounds down. Not in 120 degree heat, or zero degree cold.
Quite simply, we love Car.
CAR2 Angels
For a year I've been wishing on a star for help in getting a car for the Gang. This year my prayers of help for a car for the Gang came from three very generous couples - the Wilkens of Arizona, the Crowders of Virginia, and the Brewer/Lescoskys of Nevada .
Mik (and Matt) Wilkens came into my life at the Greyhound Gathering - Kanab '99. She offered to redo my Web site. The rest is history, as they say, because with our kick-ass :-) Web site, the Gang now has the national exposure it needs to help raise funds for greyhound rescue, and help people learn about greyhound adoption. The Web site Mik created and maintains is directly responsible for all the "goodness" that has happened to the Gang this past year.
Becky and Jimmie1 & Jimmie2 Crowder came to stay at my guest house last year, and from our first meeting on the streets of Kanab we enjoyed each other's company. After they left Kanab, we corresponded via email, and I was always happy to get a note from them. They had read about my need for a new car, and Jimmie had gone to his bank and found out about repossessed cars there. He'd let me know what he had found, and though nothing turned up just right, we kept hoping. They really wanted to drive one from VA to Kanab for me! :-)
Chris Brewer and Carla Lescosky not only adopted two greyhounds from me, but they also adopted me. They gave me a key to their home, with my own bedroom and bath and I stay with them monthly when I go into Vegas to adopt out greyhounds. I called them on a Sunday about a month ago, and said, "I really need to find a used Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna van. Would you check the classifieds for me? " Chris did better than that. He called me back and said, "I drive by a Honda Odyssey van every day with a for sale sign on it. Want me to check it out?"
And within three days, he and Carla had driven it, and negotiated for me - and all I had to do was get into Vegas and pay for the van.
..
I emailed the Crowder's that I had found a van, and they put an extremely generous check in the mail to help with its purchase.
..
I am still, and will always be, overwhelmed by the on-going generosity of these angels on earth. Quite simply, I love them.
Here are some pictures of the hounds they love with a bit of a story behind them.
The Day
You have to understand that when I left my East Coast life style 6 years ago, I broke up with a boyfriend, and I sold my classic, red, convertible Karmann Ghia. I cried harder when the new owner drove away in the Ghia, then when I told the boyfriend good-bye. So I have a history of loving my cars. And I don't think I've ever loved and respected a car as much as I do CAR.
Yet at this moment, Beauty, Smiles and I have hitched a ride on a Vegas-bound bus, where we're going to pick up our new car - a 1997 Honda Odyssey Van. I've never seen it. I've never driven it. But it's going to be our new car - CAR2.
Before I left I slipped behind the wheel of CAR. And I just sat.
Red dust, torn plastic, worn seats, cracked windshield surrounded me as overwhelming sadness engulfed me. CAR had never let me or the greyhounds down. He never broke down once, he never refused to go, he was always ready and willing to rescue and chauffeur.
I sat there, just slumped in the seat because I couldn't even bring myself to start stripping car of the trappings I'd need for CAR2. The license plates, key chain, sunglasses, terra cotta aromatherapy holder, Jezebel and Eli pewter figurines that had traveled cross country with me, the insurance…to take from CAR these representative items that brought him to life. I felt like a traitor.
I got out of CAR, thinking I would just take the plates off first. I walked slowly around to the back, feeling like such a traitor, my hand trailing along his dusty side. I couldn't even get the plates off, CAR was holding on so tight. I moved to the front, and knelt in the gravel driveway in homage to CAR, and he let me remove the front. I had not noticed how the road and the journeys we had taken had reshaped the plates. They were rusted, bent and cracked, and my heart lurched with renewed respect for all the journeys CAR had allowed me and the greyhounds to make safely.
Believe me I know this sounds stupid, it's bad enough to amorphosize dogs, but cars?? However, the tears are all true, and undeniable. Without CAR's steadfastness and trueness, greyhounds would not have been rescued so well. I never had to think about whether CAR would make it. He just always did.
The ride back from Vegas in CAR2 was quick, easy and light. There is more room for the greyhounds, they don't have to jump as high to get into CAR2 and it's better gas mileage. But this first trip was not an adventure, like it used to be with CAR, it was just a drive.
Currently, CAR has been completely detailed, and is feeling spiffy. He's living under the carport, as I just can't decide where he will go. I envision him living out his life in my pasture, with green grass, fresh water and blue skies. I envision him going to someone who will care for him and love him as we do. The reality is I have to sell him to pay bills, and CAR, even by his leaving, will still be there for us.
ADDENDUM: CAR went to his new home today. Landon (yes, named for Little Joe) Loveland, and his wife Erica met CAR, and drove him to his new home that day. We watched CAR drive up the driveway for the last time. Bye CAR, we will miss you..
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posted by Claudia @ 5:17 PM
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