Coming to America 11

Blue's Swan Song
Let me begin by saying that "Blue" (my 1979 Ford Pinto) and I were together for four good years. Sure, we had our good days and bad days and there were times that I considered trading him in for a newer model but we were together for the long haul.

It was in the summer of '84 at the height of rush hour traffic and every bit of 100 degrees fahrenheit. I had acclimated to the Dallas heat (as air conditioning was something other people had) and I my perception of merging onto Central Expressway was now a challenge and kind of fun. For several days leading up to Blue's final hours, I could have sworn there was a jet engine flying overhead. In fact, I remember pulling over and looking up on occasion. The roar was actually Blue's Swan Song. The tow-truck driver just shook his head as he gloomily looked at Blue and said, "Lady, cut your losses". I took that to mean that Blue was 'gone'.

Oh, there have been many other cars after Blue went to the great scrapyard out there somewhere...sportier, fancier and faster models , but not one of them earned themselves a name.