Let's go, Blue

Here is a story about my blue car. It happened to me earlier this year and it had a profound effect on me, and I’ve been meaning to write about it. Here we go.

So, I was on my way to work in New York City, and it was early in the morning. The sun was still making its way up and it was a cold morning. I don’t remember which train station that I was traveling to, whether it was the closest one to my home which is about twenty minutes away or a further station. I do remember though that I was pushing it and by that, I mean, my car, Blue, was pushing it.

Then I had a moment.

Before going into that moment, I’d like to describe my car a bit. It’s a 2002 Toyota Camry which has 230,000+ miles on it. The radio works, but I succumb to my AirPods. The heating works although at times there could be a rush of chill air to start of the drive. The driver’s seat door doesn’t fully close, so there is a constant hum of wind that grows the faster I go, as well as a constant freeze to my toes, the further I go. Very spacious and quite fast, and the color is quite vintage so I can easily spot it in a parking lot. Blue has got a lot going on for herself.

Now that I’ve been able to paint a little bit better of a picture of my drive, here is what happened.

It’s a rush to get to work. I’m pushing the pedal and Blue is rumbling. I start to have a conversation. Not sure if it’s with myself, or with Blue, or both. But I have a conversation and a thought.

‘Blue is probably thinking, “take it easy on me, Mike, I’m 220,000+ miles old.”’ I thought to myself, ‘hmm, she may be right.’

I then stepped myself back out of the situation and thought, “But wait!”

What would Blue really want? And at that moment, I believed that Blue would most want to be pushed. Yes, I’m sure she has been through so much since 2002. I can only imagine happen owners she’s had.. how many people took her out for a ride.. the hills, the roads, the acceleration, deceleration, snow, rain, heat, she’s been through a lot.

I don’t know how much longer she has to go, but in that moment, I was convinced, whatever time she has left, she wants to go full force.

Then I heard her louder, “Mike, go ahead, push me!” Because quite frankly, there is no greater respect than to still be making the most use of her. There is a difference between cautious driving and tentative driving. I believe that when it comes to cautious driving, one is aware of the risks at hand and still maintains a goal focused drive in combination with confidence that they (their vehicle) can perform and is capable. Tentative driving on the other hand, is almost looking for something to go wrong and placing more emphasis on the things that can go wrong than belief in the things that can go right.

This is where Blue helped me. I realized I am lucky enough to have a car, get places, and the same way that she would like all her capabilities to be used until they can’t be used anymore, the same way I need to believe that I am capable and it is imperative to use all the gears and horsepower that I have while also keeping my brakes tight, lights and windshield wipers on when needed and fully fueled for a great drive.

So, let’s buckle up because life is ready to put us through an incredible drive.