I don’t know much about cars.

I put gas in one.  I put oil in the same one.  I make sure the tires are properly inflated.  You’d think the guy who drives 108 miles a day round trip to work and back would know something about cars.  I wish I were him.

I drive a 1999 Dodge Stratus.  The thing is in great condition, considering it has nearly 225,000 miles upon it.

This car is special to me and I do not want to give it up.

In 1999 on a Wednesday afternoon in mid-October, I was checking in on my dear wife Carrie’s grandparents.  It just so happened that on that day her grandfather, Rubert, had purchased a new 1999 Dodge Stratus and he drove it home that day and it was sitting in the driveway with all of 34 miles on the odometer.

As I walked in the back door that led the kitchen of the house of  Rubert and his wife, Mildred, I met Rubert and he gave me a pleasant greeting as he always did.  It went something like this:  ” How’s it going, Old Buddy?”  “Glad you came by…preshadit.”

I sat at the kitchen table and Rubert asked me if I wanted a cup of coffee.  Mildred asked me if I wanted a sandwich…this was the common drill.

I settled on a glass of tea.

Rubert then asked me if I was still planning to take our oldest son, Jarrett, with me down to visit Aunt Barbara near Jackson, Mississippi.  The three of us, Aunt Barbara, Jarrett, and myself were to be heading from her house on Saturday up to Oxford to watch the Ole Miss Rebels take on the Georgia Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium on the campus of Ole Miss.  It was a great game, by the way. The only problem was that Georgia won by a score of 20-17.  Quincy Carter was playing quarterback for Georgia.  Also, I remember watching Ole Miss running back Joe Gunn run 85 yards for a touchdown.  It was a very exciting game.

Anyway, Rubert told me to take his new Dodge Stratus to Mississippi that weekend.  The car had only 34 miles on it!

I told him no.  I was not going to take his new car.

He told me otherwise.  I think our exchange went something like this:

Me:  Rubert, I am not going to take your new car.

Rubert;  Yeah you are.

Me: No…I am not.

Rubert: Why not?

Me: Cos the car is brand new…I don’t want to hurt it.

Rubert: You’re not going to hurt it.  Just take it and test it out.

Me: Rubert, I am not going to take it and test it out.  It is your car, you need to test it out.

Rubert ( getting a little testy):  You take the damn thing…blow it out…tell me how she runs!

I had no choice.

Me:  Okay…I will drive it down there.

And so I did.  And I am still driving that car all these years on.

By the way…I enjoyed driving that car too much that trip to Mississippi.  I got a speeding ticket just inside the Illinois line and I will swear in court I was doing 69 and not the 71 the officer told me I was doing.  I played nice.  I was in another state.

In truth…as I mentioned on another post…Rubert had to be put in a nursing home in early 2007.  I started driving that car when he was no longer able to.  He died in April 2007.

I still think of him often as I drive to and fro to work every day.  I hope the car holds out for a good while.  I have been taking good care of it.

Just yesterday I was outside of the school I work at and I was walking with a 7th grade student as I was heading to my car.  When I told the student I was going to my car he quizzed me on which car was mine.  He guessed it was a nice new modern SUV.  I told him mine was the puny Dodge Stratus.  He told me I can do better than that.

I thought of Rubert Hawkins…and I thought…no, I don’t think I can.

That is just plain flat outright….speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson