She Was a Good Ride, Helga

I don’t hold as much attachment to vehicles as some do, but Helga was different. She was actually the first car I ever purchased by myself. Yes, with my husbands, I sat beside them while they negotiated at the car dealership and got the best deal. I got to have my say about the color of the car, but they did the back-and-forth of exact price and what package to include for the car.

Until December, 2011. I had been widowed for nearly two years. Blair, my late husband and I entered marriage with each of our own cars. My was German, his Japanese. We decided instead of “my car” “your car”, we’d give them names. It seemed more together than separate.

After Blair died, Fritz—the German one—began having a few problems here and there and I thought it was time to replace it. I’d never purchased a car by myself—ever. I did some researching and decided I’d stick with the same brand, a VW Jetta. I wanted red. I’ve driven a red car most of my adult life. Our first VW Bug was red. We replaced it with another red one. Our Jetta was red. I liked red.

My first day with Helga. Fritz is at the side.

After spending hours at the dealership, I drove away in a brand new red Jetta. It was a powerful feeling I’d never experienced before. Since she belonged to me only, I wouldn’t have needed to name the car, but I did. She was christened Helga. To read more about that purchase, go here….https://goo.gl/Q4GzIC

Years passed. I sold Samurai—the Japanese van. I married Jim. Our separate cars became our cars. Two of them, Emma and Helga. We planned to keep Helga a long time. We jokingly said she sipped the diesel, and Emma guzzled the gas. Helga usually took us on longer road trips. But then there was a recall and we decided to give the car back to VW and receive a sum of money and we’d get a different car.

I didn’t think it would bother me much to turn Helga in, but it did. She was truly the only purchase of a car by myself. We replaced her with another car. But it isn’t red and I didn’t choose it by myself. We chose it together—as we should. And that’s another story for another time.

So yesterday, I said goodbye to Helga—and it was with a little regret. Oh I know cars are things, not living beings, but I think she looked a little sad when we drove off the lot. I sure felt a little sad.