My first meaningful introduction to New Age spirituality was through Ralph and Lois Mitchell. Ralph talked about how simple spirits, elementals, attach themselves to things that are close to us. In the field of transportation in days of yore, we were close to the horses, donkeys and other fine beasts that carried us or pulled our carts. Spirits would associate with such furry employees. Nowadays, it's our automobiles. Ralph's idea stuck with me. Shari and I have always named our vehicles. We make a point of thinking kindly and gratefully about them, and we often affectionately pat them on the dashboard.
We named our 2003 Ford Explorer Smoke on account of its tan color and a play on the Danish word for handsome (smuk), and Ganesha because, well, because it was big and capable of removing obstacles. It carried us with our furry kids, and pulled a trailer back and forth several times when we were snowbirds migrating between Lower Alaska and Baja Arizona. With Smoke, we got to know almost all the routes: I-5 via Tehachapi; I-5 via Los Angeles; the various routes via the Great Basin Highway and Las Vegas; I-15 through Salt Lake City, Panguich and the canyon lands of the four corners states; and even once through Denver and Santa Fe (a bit of a story). Our older posts with the "travel" label include many a photo of our beloved Smoke.
It was a little jarring to have Smoke in its allotted garage space in the early afternoon, then this new, almost white 2019 Explorer in its space come late afternoon. We left Smoke in the Holmes Tuttle Ford parking lot in exchange for a $1000 trade-in. It wasn't the trade-in value as much as our garage only holds two vehicles. Aside from the expense of carrying insurance on a third car, leaving it parked outside would be an invitation for local pack rats to nest and chew up its wiring. The sales folks said they would probably sell it to a used car lot that sells cars to people with bad credit, people who need transportation. That has to be better than letting Smoke go derelict.
I spent a couple of hours this morning learning the basics from the 500+ page owner's manual. I now know how to dim the dash lights, open the back hatch, and adjust the steering wheel. I am still working on the FM station presets, but I am pessimistic whether I can delete the ones I don't want. Shari, who will be the primary user of this new snow-colored bird, has decided the vehicle is feminine and tentatively has dubbed her "Pearl".
Farewell, Smoke Ganesha.
