R.I.P. Betty

For those of you who shared some sentimental attachment to my vehicle (or patronized me for mine), please indulge me with the opportunity to post with great sadness the untimely death of Bitchin’ Betty.

Yesterday morning, on the test-drive segment of a scheduled maintenance appointment at the dealership, she began smoking and quickly went up into flames as the technician who’d been driving escaped into a building to alert the fire department. The driver and firefighters were unharmed.

As she exits this earthly interstate for that open road in the sky, I will miss our morning runs to the office and short jogs down the beach; her helpful presence at tailgates and dutiful strength on camping trips; her warm seats, cool breath; and most of all, that gentle guiding voice, reminding me of an upcoming right turn.

Her tire prints crisscrossed the Mid-Atlantic, having safely transported me from one adventure to the next. Over the past five years, we’d seen 125,000 miles of new towns and road trips across an ever-changing landscape. She will be sorely missed.

Bitchin' Betty
March 2001 - December 2005