Ten Years With Sally, the Mustang

Tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of my buying my very first car, which I still have with me (I don't think I'll have time tomorrow to make an entry; so I'll do it today).  Back in 1996, I set up an appointment to meet with someone who would drive me out to Kingston, Massachusetts, to see their car dealership.  I did not know how far away Kingston was until we drove out on Route 3 after work that evening and got stuck in traffic.

The rest of that night I was talking to several people and looking at cars.  When I told them that I was interested in getting a Mustang, the woman who was about the fourth or fifth person I was talking to that night got on the telephone with someone on the car lot.  I was skeptical about getting a Mustang because I didn't see any there.  The car dealership wasn't a Ford dealership.  They sold Nissans.

Then, the woman guided me outside and there was Sally, the Mustang.  They had her in their used car lot.  The car was almost a year and a half old.  It had been a rental car for Enterprise.

After testing driving it and negotiating a price for it, I decided to take it as my car.  It was almost 9 pm that night, just before closing time.  I was very dismayed that it took so long for me to get my car.  Even more so when I saw that the gas tank was almost empty!  They paid for the gas.  One of the dealers gave me directions and drove his car ahead of mine on the way back to Boston.

It was also raining heavily when I left the car dealership driving Sally, the Mustang, back to Boston.  Route 3 was flooded.  I could the car hydroplaning as I drove back into Boston.   The rain was coming down so hard that I couldn't hear the radio.

At least, Sally and I made it back in one piece to my condo.  It wasn't an easy drive for me because I had just gotten my license a couple of weeks before.  Long story short, my older brother Alfred died of a head injury after he ran his car into a tree back in 1980.  I was very afraid to drive because I thought I was going to get killed too.

I have only had two car accidents in the last ten years.  The first one was in December 2001.  The back and neck injuries developed a few months after the accident, and I went to a chiropractor to get relief and heal from those injuries.  The second one was scarier in December 2004 because two cars hit me from behind during a minor snowstorm making Sally skid out of control and run right into a wire fence.  I ended up with more severe injuries to my neck and back.  Also, my right knee was injured.  I don't recall my knee hitting anything in the car, but it was in a lot of pain like my neck and back.

Fortunately, my neck and back are feeling better now because I went back to the same chiropractor.  I'm still having trouble with my right knee, but I'm seeing an orthopedic doctor next week.