For those of you unaware, Vern is my blue VW Beetle that I have had for over five and a half years. This spring break I prepare to say goodbye to Vern and his multiple ailments that have manifested over the past year. Some fond memories:
- I was surprised with Vern three weeks after my birthday. I was expecting my dad’s old Volvo, and instead I got a brand new, brite blue bubble. My mom documented the whole event – I think the waitress at the diner thought I was having seizures. It was amazing.
- At one time I had an entire closet in my trunk/backseat. Once, my friend Carrie had to sit atop of the pile in the backseat to ride to the high school. I was surprisingly undisturbed by this. Now I’m mortified.
- My freshman year of college Shannon sent me a totally rad hula girl to put on Vern’s dash. I named the hula girl Bob. Think about it, it makes complete sense. Vern and Bob love eachother, and tomorrow I must cerimoniously remove Bob from her home. Sad times.
- A number of people have contributed to my goal of having every typical car paraphenalia in my car. In high school I had the DeSoto ‘01 tassel (which quickly came down after I graduated). My brother gave me a pair of fuzzy blue dice. Josh unwittingly provided me with a strand of gold Mardi Gras beads which hang from my rearview mirror (Thanks, by the way). Of course, there’s Bob on the dash courtesy of Shannon. Coleman gave me a pine tree air freshener to accompany the beads (oddly enough, the pine tree is red and smells like cherry). Oh, and I have a severely beat up steering wheel cover as well. If I’m missing anything, I have no idea what it is.
- Let’s not forget the late-night stalking with Candace of a certain Baylor organization – in retrospect, the brite blue bubble car probably wasn’t the best to follow people around in. A little conspicuous perhaps.
- Vern helped move me to college, visit friends in Brownwood and Austin, go see my grandparents in Tyler, and just get me around town. He was a good little bug.
All in all, Vern has been good to me; however, like any good mama, I must now send him out into the world to survive on his own. I’ll never forget the memories, and let’s face it – I never would have met Tony the mechanic if it weren’t for Vern. All’s well that ends well, and this story does. So farewell Vern, thanks for the memories.
