R.I.P. Altima, 1999-2008

Dear Altima:

I just want you to know that I'm going to miss you. Ten years is a long time to spend together. You were a brand new car when I really needed a boost in my life, since my previous car had limped onto the dealer's lot. Then, I saw you: sleek, black, comfortable. You were The Grown-Up Car. I wanted you immediately.

Just seven months after we met, we took that crazy drive across the country. You helped me make the trip in style, and we got to the Left Coast in just four days. Damn, that was a good trip. You held all my stuff and hummed along while I listened to hog reports and weaved down empty highways, trying to get a good photograph of thunderstorms on the plains. My steadfast companion, you never faltered.

You should know that I did not give you up easily; in fact, I could have let you go months ago, but I couldn't. It just wasn't time. But now, just 82 miles from turning over your odometer, I placed a hand on your sleek rear quarter panel and whispered, "Thank You". And I meant it.

I hope that you give that same initial thrill to someone who will care for you the way I did. I still have the photographs from the day we set off on that road trip, when your paint still shined brightly. I hope you know that I will always remember you that way.

And, again: Thank you, old friend. Drive well and long. Enjoy the roads, and remember me.