I have a '99 Accord LX, stock, name of Fenry, she came home with us on a warm July afternoon of that year, 131,000 miles ago, to fill the role as household servant, replacing a venerable, but troublesome Plymouth, our only foray into the market of the great Americsan automobile. 113,000 miles of yeesh.

The ole' silver ghost has served us well for all this time and fills the role of the DD that stays outside (while the "baby" stays the garage all winter). She takes us to the city, the ballpark, the mall, anyplace that might be too rough or a potential door-dent situation. She's dirty, door dinged, burns oil, the cruise control no longer works, but for now, she needs to stay part of the family, faithfully suffering the indignity of getting snowed under, rained on, parked in hard spaces while her baby brother gets professionally detailed and cooed over. She is subjected to the steets of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens because, Heaven forfend, the baby doesn't got over a bridge or through a tunnel, preferring only the smooth roads of Westchester and beyond usually under sunny skies with the top down accompanied by smiles on our faces.

We've looked at new cars from a CR-V to a 9-3, but in the end, we think about that last trip to the supermarket where the wagons roll freely and the trophy wife's Mercedes doors spring hard and wide and we say, well, she's still got a few miles under that hood, let's wait.

So here's to Fenry, the Ole' Silver Ghost, may she last, well, a bit longer.


Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.