100,000 Miles

Tonight at mile marker 65 on Interstate 81 South in Preble, NY, on the shores of Tully Lake, my car's odometer reached 100,000 miles. My car is about 44 months old. His name is King Pedro (officially Pedro Mk. II), and he's a 2004 Chevrolet Impala SS, Indianapolis Edition.

King Pedro and I have been through a lot. Snow storms, blinding rain, speeding tickets, upstate New York drivers, and Rhode Island kamikazes. We've been to Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario. I remember the day when I reached his governor, a restrictive part of an engine that shuts down the throttle when a maximum speed is reached. It was 125 MPH. But both King Pedro and I know he can go faster if the governor were removed.

We've been in three low speed accidents, but the only damaging one was when my rear view mirror got broke. We had that incessant low tire pressure problem a few years ago, and the speedometer has broken three times.

But he's a good car. He's the best car. He's fast, he can turn well, he has great pickup, he's tough, he gets good mileage, and he can drive wicked good in the snow.

I never thought I'd be able to love an inanimate object, but I love King Pedro.

So what's next for us? Back home to Massachusetts in two weeks, which means trips to Maine and Rhode Island. We need to get a new set of tires for King Pedro, and he needs a few small repairs. Eventually, he'll need a new engine. If I ever make a really good sum of money in some way, I'd like to fix his broken fog light. I'd like to get some new wheels, deluxe the interior, get a V8, and maybe even put some flashing blue lights into my headlight clusters. I can't tell you how many people I've wanted to turn on police lights for on the road. Scare the shit out of them.

I love you, King Pedro!