A common custom here in the Southern United States is to have your yard littered with old cars that won’t run.  Through a combination of excessive agreeableness and excessive laziness, I had two old junkers on my property until recently:  my old 2006 Dodge Caravan, and a late colleague’s 2003 Saturn L200.

I commemorated the departure of both vehicles before the junk car guy came and picked them up (and I pocketed a sweet $240 for each of them).  Here are those short videos:

2006 Dodge Caravan Prepares for Its Last Ride

That van had nearly 230,000 miles on it, and it took me all over the Southeastern United States in its prime.  It was a gift from my grandparents when I graduated college in 2006, and was the absolutely most stripped-down model of minivan possible—no cruise control, no power anything.  But, dang, it was a great vehicle while it lasted.

2003 Saturn L200 Prepares for Its Last Ride

A colleague of mine had this old Saturn parked at our school, and the headmaster told him he had to get it off-campus.  He asked if he could have it towed to my place, and it’s been sitting in my yard for probably five years.

I delicately asked my colleague—who was quite elderly and an avid smoker—what would become of the vehicle should he pass away while it was still in my possession.  He proclaimed it to be “found property” and that I could dispose of it as I wished.

The legal reality was a bit more complicated, but his daughters eventually found the title and I sold it for scrap.  Now my yard looks slightly less authentic, but a lot cleaner.

Happy Friday!

—TPP