one for the road

Last week our son mentioned that his car was not sounding so good. We have had the Ford Tempo since we came to Amerika. It was our only car for 5 years which is quite a feat here!! But I was not working and the kid's school was within walking distance, so we managed.
Then I got a Geo Metro in 1995 and then S got the Van in 2000. We held onto the Tempo as we thought it would be handy for the kids to learn in and sure enough J learned to drive in it and passed her test too. We then got her an old Volvo from someone S works with and it was now A's turn. A was a reluctant driver and took a year to learn to drive but passed his test first time. He only drives to school or round to his friend's. He is not at all interested in how a car works so for him to notice it was sounding odd was a bit ominous.
S takes great pride in all the cars and even though he moans, he really likes to do straightforward repairs and maintenance. So s took it out for a run to see what the problem was and it broke down in the boonies on the edge of our town. We had it towed back home and it was sadly terminally done for. The drive shaft had broken and although the engine is still good, it is just not worth repairing. So today I had it towed away. The easiest and most painless way was to donate it to the local Public Broadcasting Service, they deal with all the paperwork, auction it off and let us know how much it was worth in about a month. A very sad day indeed. I was determined not to be upset but after it was gone I had a good cry!