I Guess You're Just What I Needed

There’s a new edition in my family. Just brought her home last weekend. I’m not used to being in charge of anything important, so the responsibility is really scary to me. I’m completely afraid of doing something wrong and permanently hurting her. She’s here to stay so the thought that I can do lasting damage is terrifying.

I’m talking about my brand new…used…2008 Honda Civic.

(Besides Vicidius) She’s the nicest thing I’ve ever owned. The last car I had—a 1999 Chevy Cavalier—was nice at first, but time took its toll. In the past year, she’s been rear-ended, had her clutch replaced, then the entire clutch system, a wheel fell off, and the bad front-end alignment has forced me to replace at least 4 tires (and a stud/lug nut). The air conditioning went out two years ago, and in Texas during the summer that’s just brutal. I can’t remember the last time the gas gauge worked. For the longest time, I’ve just refilled my gas tank whenever I had driven 300 miles. More recently, the latch on the trunk stopped working. So if I need in the trunk (say to change my tire on the way to a Billy Idol concert), I’ve had to crawl into it through the backseat, which opens up. Also, the fuse that powers the lighter/plug-in burned out. That’s minor, but on top of everything else it just shows you how broke down my car has gotten.

So my new baby is a very welcome change. The only question now is what to name her. I never named my Cavalier, which makes me sad. We had good times and she deserved a name. I was always sure that one day something would come to me, but it never happened. I don’t want to make that mistake with my new car.

I’m partial to naming her after a song title. A good ballad just seems to fit a car. And I came really, realllly close to naming her “Angie,” after the Rolling Stones song. Angie is a car’s name. I put this out on Twitter, and @LanceMazmanian recommended a book to me that tells a story about the song. I have looked for this book at one book store and the public library without any luck. The Internet tells me it’s a pretty typical breakup love song, but I’m nervous about there being unknown undertones to my car’s name.

This became a moot point, however, when I decided I wanted to name her after a song by a Texas band. I’ve got state pride, what can I say. A lot of great musicians come from Texas, and I’m still looking for that perfect fit. I perused song titles by Janis Joplin, the Toadies, ZZ Top, Steve Miller Band (a Texas/Wisconsin hybrid). Nothing has struck a chord just yet. I’m taking suggestions. I would have named my car Janis in a heartbeat, except that’s my mother’s name (different spelling). Feels weird to name my car after my mom.

One thing: while I was reading the song lyrics to “Angie,” I realized it’s exactly how I feel about my Cavalier. I love that previously-unnamed hunk of metal and I’m really going to miss her. But ain’t it time we said goodbye?

R.I.P. Angie