The odometer rolled
184,000 miles this morning
150,000 of which were mine, ours
Starting with the drive from Walla Walla to Ohio
In May 2005 with new CDs by Weezer, Coldplay,
And The Shins fresh from the record store.
The Palouse was green in the spring
As I made my way through LoLo Pass on Highway 12
Until I crossed the mountains and entered
A blizzard all the way from Missoula to Bismarck
With a short sleep in Bozeman
And an extended breakfast in Miles City
Where a trucker told me a long personal story.
Driving that first 1000 miles through a blizzard
Gave me confidence in that car
Bigger than its compact economy size.
It was our city car in Philadelphia
A clown car when my tall organist friend Jim rode with me
A steady transport diagonally across Pennsylvania
To visit Grandpa Spud and family
Left-wing propaganda when we added an Obama bumper sticker
In early 2008 and a Biden/Harris one in Iowa 2020.
These days it barely runs
Shaky, squeaky, sensitive
It gets me around town when the other cars
Are spoken for
I don’t take it far, wouldn’t want to
The CD player still works
It still gets an easy 35 miles per gallon
Even as it struggles with the hills in Dubuque
And with passengers bigger than our 10-year-old.
We’re going to replace it soon
It’s time
I will miss it
I have loved it
And the places it took my family
Years of hunching in its two-doors to put three babies in car seats and boosters
Somehow feeling roomy.
They don’t make them like this anymore:
Hand-cranked windows, stick shift, push locks
Simple, efficient, practical, discontinued
2001 Toyota Echo
Rounded eggshell white: the Eggo
I’m thankful that I noticed
Its 184,000th mile
As the sun rose today
I took my son to school
Went to work
And wonder what comes next.
Where will I go
And how will I get there?
Martin Lohrmann
February 1, 2024
184,000 miles this morning
150,000 of which were mine, ours
Starting with the drive from Walla Walla to Ohio
In May 2005 with new CDs by Weezer, Coldplay,
And The Shins fresh from the record store.
The Palouse was green in the spring
As I made my way through LoLo Pass on Highway 12
Until I crossed the mountains and entered
A blizzard all the way from Missoula to Bismarck
With a short sleep in Bozeman
And an extended breakfast in Miles City
Where a trucker told me a long personal story.
Driving that first 1000 miles through a blizzard
Gave me confidence in that car
Bigger than its compact economy size.
It was our city car in Philadelphia
A clown car when my tall organist friend Jim rode with me
A steady transport diagonally across Pennsylvania
To visit Grandpa Spud and family
Left-wing propaganda when we added an Obama bumper sticker
In early 2008 and a Biden/Harris one in Iowa 2020.
These days it barely runs
Shaky, squeaky, sensitive
It gets me around town when the other cars
Are spoken for
I don’t take it far, wouldn’t want to
The CD player still works
It still gets an easy 35 miles per gallon
Even as it struggles with the hills in Dubuque
And with passengers bigger than our 10-year-old.
We’re going to replace it soon
It’s time
I will miss it
I have loved it
And the places it took my family
Years of hunching in its two-doors to put three babies in car seats and boosters
Somehow feeling roomy.
They don’t make them like this anymore:
Hand-cranked windows, stick shift, push locks
Simple, efficient, practical, discontinued
2001 Toyota Echo
Rounded eggshell white: the Eggo
I’m thankful that I noticed
Its 184,000th mile
As the sun rose today
I took my son to school
Went to work
And wonder what comes next.
Where will I go
And how will I get there?
Martin Lohrmann
February 1, 2024