an ode

My jeep just reached 100,000 miles and I believe it deserves a moment. I am a bit attached to my 'baby jeep.' Now, that may sound strange, but stop a minute and think with me. I got this jeep in 1998 when I was in high school and it is now September of 2007. A lot has changed in my life over these years. I applied to colleges across the nation, ended up at Birmingham-Southern, graduated, got a job at a crazy restaurant, started grad school, moved a million times. Yet, this car has been there through it all. It has traveled the I-65 north and south more times than I can count. This car has carried hundreds of meals for 'meals on wheels.' This car has carried hundreds of pounds of food over the course of three years to First Light women's shelter. This car has been wrapped in toilet paper, care of my high school friends. This is the car I hydroplaned in. This is the car that's been nailed twice in the bumper (not my fault) and later nailed someone else's bumper (definitely my fault, damn 280 in traffic). This is the car in which I hit three of my four stationary objects. I still have a cassette tape from high school in the center console. I still have a high school sticker on the side window, yet no college or grad school stickers. This car is laden with crumbs from breakfasts eaten on the way to school and memories of the great conversations and adventures I have had with friends. It's my baby jeep. Thanks for going the distance.