Twenty-one years ago, Daddy drove him in to our squeals of delight. My twin and I took to him immediately. The last of the original Fiat model, when we brought him home, he was already 15 years old - add 21 to 15 - ever heard of a 36-YEAR-OLD CAR!?! 9549 was 36 years old, 21 of those birthdays happened with us.
I know cars these days come with loads of 'extras' and a cassette player is passe - but it wasn't 21 years ago. My twin and I loved music with a passion (still do!) and a player in the car was a novel luxury. It became a ritual to spend a couple of hours in the car each week with the windows rolled up or down depending on the season running our favourite tapes over and over till we busted them. We pestered mummy and daddy to takes us on drives and we drove around without a destination simply humming or singing along.
We ate in the car, we drank countless cups of steaming coffee in it, we had tons of icecream parked outside Lakeview, we studied in the car, we fought and we made up in the car. We also earned pocket money from Daddy washing it! The weeks we needed extra money, we gave it an extra wash - 9549 taught us the value of cash.
The years (and our infamous roads) began to wear him down. I guess we all knew at the back of our minds we would have to say goodbye soon. Sometimes I resented 9549 for not being what he used to be - he represented a lost time that we sometimes desperately want to go back to.
Two weeks ago, Daddy drove him out for the last time from our garage. It was hard to hold back the tears. I don't know who'll touch him next, but he carries a lot of precious memories...
