Farewell to The Mean Green Traveling Machine

/ Janna Hill

The Mean Green Traveling Machine

If vehicles were books…

If words were miles…

If cracked leather upholstery could speak…

If frogs had wings they wouldn’t bump their ass every time they hopped. 😉

The Mean Green Traveling Machine aka Nana’s Hooptie
Seal your grill and never tell
Farewell my good and faithful servant

I snapped a few shots as they readied her to travel yesterday and said goodbye to the 1996 Chevrolet Blazer but I wasn’t prepared for such nostalgia!

Seventeen years ago I was totally in love with that piece of machinery but it hasn’t been driven in over six months and it was taking up space. It was old and out of style, it had become temperamental and needed repairs and maybe it reminded me too much of something else. The melancholy definitely goes much deeper than a defective starter, a dented bumper or Kool-Aid stains in the rear compartment and I was just thinking…

She has seen her fair share of asphalt, dirt roads and white rock. From daily commutes to long trips, from mountain tops to sandy beaches…

Our oldest son vacationed in it when his first child was just an infant. They traveled to San Antonio. That infant is a sophomore in high school now. The oldest daughter borrowed it from time to time when she needed reliable transportation — when her babies were literally babies. Our youngest two children learned to drive behind the wheel of the hunter green hooptie and I’m sure they entrusted more than a few secrets to her, I know I did.

If The Mean Green Traveling Machine were a novel she would be epic. The odometer read 220,771 miles. Actually it was 220,771.4 when the man winched her onto the trailer.

Here’s praying the donation makes a positive difference in someone’s life and hoping the hooptie doesn’t gossip.

16 thoughts on “Farewell to The Mean Green Traveling Machine”

  2. My dad had a Plymouth Horizon that lasted FOREVER. All of us kids learned to drive a standard in that car. We used it to haul everything under the sun. That little hatchback got me to college (with all my stuff) and back through undergraduate and graduate school, and when I was building a house, it hauled giant tubs of water from my parents house to my vacant lot for the septic test. That car was through hell and came back… well, I can’t say in pristine condition. The paint peeled off, the hand brake lost it’s cover, fifth gear stuck, and all of the door handles stopped functioning properly. Still, my dad loved that car and was sad when he finally gave up. Even charity wouldn’t take it. He had to pay someone to take it away. Years (and several cars) later, he still misses that little thing. I totally understand how you feel. I hope the Mean Green Traveling Machine keeps your secrets and is happy with its new owners.

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  3. A sad moment as one realises the impermanence of material possessions. But this is offset by the marvelous memories in our mind, which will last forever.
    Thank you for the share 🙂

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  7. It’s funny how we can get so nostalgic about a vehicle. They are just machines but they do so much for us. However I cry for animals when they go not cars. Thanks for stopping by my blog and liking.

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    • Yeah, especially when they are linked to so many memories. And dogs… oh lord don’t get me started. I just adopted an eight month old German Shepherd and he is already my bff. 🙂

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