It had become a joke, to both my co-workers and my family. My sons, barely out of college, both had far newer cars than I and never let me forget it. After all, most cars don’t make it close to 22 years. Mine did and you’d know it if you ever saw it.

But I am the all-time non-car person. You’d know that too if you saw the car. But to me, if it has four wheels and could get me there, that’s about all I needed. I think I am relatively intelligent, but I am mostly lost when it comes to horsepower, cylinders, compression, anti-lock brakes, cruise control and all those things most people know enough to ask about when they get a car.

It became such a major subject in the newsroom that a couple of weeks ago when I told some people I was getting rid of the car, the word quickly spread. Megan, our executive producer, came into the studio just before our 5 pm news and said “I heard about the breaking news.”

Thinking she was referring to a news story, I said we had all our stories and we were ready for the newscast. She said “no, I was referring to your car. That should be the lead story.” That’s when I knew it wasn’t just any old car, although it most assuredly is old.

The car was the only one that was a constant during our sons’ growing up time. It went to soccer, little league baseball, high school track, basketball, family trips and all the other things growing kids are involved in.

When I look at the car I don’t see a faded paint job and torn seats. I see kids crying after a tough loss, laughing and eating ice cream after a great win or two little boys sound asleep on a long trip to see family in Ohio or on a vacation to Boston or Washington. I see it in the parking lot at Yankee Stadium or Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma and a bunch of places in between. We bought the car in Oklahoma and it took us from there to 10 years in New York and then to Charlotte. It just kept running and I just kept driving it.

When I moved to Charlotte eight years ago it was my intention to get a new one, but I live close to the station, the car continued to run well so I kept putting in the gas and oil and starting it up. Its’ legend continued to grow and grow, especially when Larry Sprinkle got rid of his a few years ago, and I had (by far) the oldest car in the parking lot.

Another reason I kept it so long was the major hassle of buying a car. The salesmen and car dealers are very nice and very knowledgeable, but there’s so many of them and so many choices. If you don’t know much about cars and could care less, then the car buying experience can be overwhelming: the options, the pricing, the color, lease or buy?, six cylinder vs. four cylinder, anti-lock brakes, rear window de-foggers, sunroofs, etc., etc., etc. I’ve never considered any of that to be of much importance, so I had a steep learning curve in the last couple of weeks.

But I did manage to learn, the job was finally complete and we now have a new car. It’s not likely to last 22 years and even if it does, there is no way the memories of the next 22 years with this new car will come close to the ones I treasure of the old.

Goodbye old friend.

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

“How Green Was My Valley” 1941

The great John Ford won the third of his four directing Oscars for this movie which tells the story of a Welsh mining family through the years.

Some might consider it overly sentimental, but a great many more will find it poignant, heartbreaking and uplifting all at the same time. Yes, the kind of movie seldom made anymore.

Roddy McDowell plays the youngster through whom the story is told, but he is only one of many well known actors in a cast that included Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Donald Crisp (best supporting Oscar) and Anna Lee.

It was nominated for ten Oscars and won five. It also remains to this day the answer to one of the great movie trivia questions of all time.

“Citizen Kane”, considered by many the greatest movie ever made, also was released in 1941, but did not win the Oscar as best picture. That honor went to “How Green Was My Valley.” It is well worth your time.