{Megan}

This story will have a point so hang in there with me….

I used to be a big 49er football fan.  I’d watch the games with my parents on a rainy Sunday or we’d all converge at my Uncle Roy’s house and indulge in massive bowls of chips while watching the game on his big screen.  Names like Montana, Dickerson, Rice, Lott and Craig were screen-printed on the backs of the jerseys and it felt like they could do no wrong.

Joe Montana, one of the all-time greatest QBs played for the 49ers for an astounding 1979-1992 career.  At the end of his Niner time, it was tough to see him go but we had this new guy named Young who we slowly accepted.  Joe gave over a decade of his life for the team and he was a 49er through and through.  And then it all went bad…

Apparently even though the Niners were done with Joe, Joe was not done and he was recruited to the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Chiefs!?!  WTF Joe?! You’re a Niner!  You’re supposed to retire as a Niner!!!!  Didn’t you get the memo from your hundreds of thousands of fans?!

It just wasn’t right. That’s all I can say about that.

So… my Jeep…

I purchased my Jeep off an Oregon dealer lot in February 2002.  I drove my little blue Jeep for a whopping 10 years and 225,000+ miles.  I babied it, washed it, and did everything right.

This past December I purchased a new vehicle and my Jeep sat.  Mike finally broached the subject with me and said, “We should start thinking about selling the Jeep.  It has several good years left in it and it can go to a new home.”  I looked at Mike with astonishment and tried to gather my words.  I was finally able to spit out, “Are you kidding?!  This is like Joe Montana all over again!!”  Here’s the thing.  Mike and I have been married to each other for a long time.  He knows I’m a little crazy, and he knew I must have a point, but he needed a little more help so I went on to explain the above story of Joe.

I knew Mike was right, and I knew it was time to say goodbye to my Jeep, but I had hopes she’d always “retire” quietly with me.  So with that, I polished her up one last time while quietly thanking her for so many years of dependable friendship.  We listed her on Craigslist and not too many days later, some fairly rough looking guys made an offer, told us they’d be driving her down to Mexico, and it was done.  She was gone.  Mexico… Kansas City… it’s all the same.