Sold my old van this weekend, and you know what… I got all choked up, sentimental, and almost cried as I watched it drive away. Thinking back over my lifetime of vehicles, I’ve always thought it’s kind of crazy this deep emotional bond we attach to our vehicles, the memories we permanently associate with our rides, and how when we sell them it’s almost like saying goodbye to a good friend, someone who’s been there through the most amazing of journeys with us, and someone who we’ll never see again. It’s really kind of sad when I think about it, all the joy and independence that Big Black brought me and the many crazy adventures we shared over the past 5 years.
Thinking back to when we first met, I was a few months out of the rehab hospital, feeling the independence/freedom of being able to drive my wheelchair around everywhere quickly slip away as winter approached and I could no longer get around. I started searching for a ride, but was quickly overwhelmed by the $50,000+ price tags of the new adapted vans, and turned my attention to eBay to take a chance on a nice-looking, low mileage, full-sized van in Chicago for a reasonable price. I bought the van sight unseen, and Sargent’s Trucking graciously brought it back to southern Maine where it arrived at the handicap accessibility dealer for a thorough check over. They did an operational maintenance, added a few specifics just for me, and told me what an incredible deal I’d gotten minus one thing… It had no driver’s seat!!! Big problem, because my buddy Scott was supposed to show up two days later to drive it the rest of the journey to Northern Maine. We started brainstorming ideas, and eventually Scott came up with the half brained idea (sorry Scott… but this would’ve been way sketchy) of using a folding lawn chair for the 200 mile trip north. Fortunately for us, the actual captain’s driver’s seat showed up the day before Scott.
So the van made it up here, all shiny and black, looking kind of new, and the change in me was instant. I went from being a land locked person limited to a few blocks from my house on sunny days to somebody with real independence. I could do anything or go anywhere… so what did we do… but go driving out in the woods and almost got big black stuck on the very first day! Have no fear, Big Black was a trooper and got me back home, like it always did, but this was the first of a very interesting series of adventures.
We threw an incredible Hawaiian luau party and fit all of the girls in this picture, including me into Big Black. If only I had thought to hang a mistletoe from the ceiling! As a memory, the blue Hawaiian Lei from around my neck hung from the mirror of big black until the day before it sold.
Hawaiian Luau Benefit Party
Then there were the many long trips with friends to Portage, Long Lake, Lac Temiscouata… all over the place. We always sat in our seats and behaved ourselves!
Headed to the Sporting Club in Big Black
The long 14 hour journey south to get Caleb the Super Dog. I think he still thinks the new van is not as comfortable as big black.
Caleb Sitting in the Back of Big Black with One of His Friends
And the time when my next-door neighbor almost drove Big Black into the water tower!!! You see, big black has always had hand controls, and, unbeknownst to me, and particularly to this nice, innocent lady, these hand controls make it so you can’t adjust the tilt of the steering wheel up and down without adjusting the hand controls. Well, we didn’t know this, so my friend who’s also rather short decided to tilt the wheel all the way down so that it would be easier for her to drive. No biggie, except when she did this it caused the back of the steering wheel to get fetched up on the hand controls, and as she pulled left out of the driveway caused the van to completely floor it, and squeal the tires across the street, quickly headed to the water tower. Luckily for us, she’s a quick thinker and doesn’t panic under rather crazy situations, because she floored the brake, got everything under control, and we managed to cruise on by the water tower without leaving a Big Black sized hole in the municipal water supply. PHEW!
But let me say this, with all these awesome adventures, the many long trips, and over 40,000 miles Big Black never let me down and was the most reliable/dependable vehicle I’ve ever owned. Almost like it knew it was carrying some extra special cargo!
Big Black, I’ll miss you with all my heart, but don’t fret too hard because I know you’re going to another great home. And even better, from the sounds of it, this time the recently injured guy will actually be driving you! As in, he’s already passed his driver’s test, and you’re the next step to his independence. So Big Black, take care of this new owner and bring him many faithful miles and memories just like you did to me!
I’ll miss you!
Oh, and one more thing! Through all this journey of owning Big Black and selling it to the next person, I got to meet a really incredible guy. Just like Sargent’s trucking helped me get the van home, Shawn Moody and a couple of his friends helped get Big Black to the next guy. Shawn, have only gotten to know you for a few phone calls/short time, but I can already tell you’re going to be a great friend that I’ll stay in touch with for many years. Thank you for helping get my van to the next person and what a pleasure it was to meet you!
Selling my Ford Econoline E-150 Wheelchair Van – Next to Shawn Moody
