Farewell to the Gray Heifer

Our trusty 2005 Honda Odyssey minivan has officially been replaced by a newer (2013) Honda Odyssey minivan. We don’t get too emotionally attached to automobiles anymore the way we used to; if I had gotten emotionally attached to the “Gray Heifer,” as it was affectionately named by members of the FDR High School XC team, we would have kept it and run it into the ground. It was pretty close to that point anyway, with many major repairs on the horizon that we have deftly avoided with a strategically timed trade-in. The Gray Heifer had a long, hard life of transporting our family around, and it was in dire need an upgrade.

We took delivery on the old van, brand-spanking new, on July 25, 2005 – Natalie’s third birthday, and a few months in advance of James’ birth. Our impending increase to a full cross country team – two parents, three kids – necessitated the move to a minivan. After 10.5 years and 180,000 miles, it was time to move on. Our 2013 model is similar to the Heifer, only newer, with a better sound and electrical system (a CD player that actually works, Sirius XM radio, and internal lights that function) and a few more modern amenities (air conditioning that works, automatic doors, etc.). It’s not new (36,000 miles), but new enough for our budget and our family needs. We are not into naming vehicles, but because of the dark-cherry maroon color, the boys have taken to calling it “Clifford: The Big Red Van.” I’ll just shorten it to Clifford, and hope he serves us as well and as long as the Gray Heifer.

Photo credit: James standing in front of the Gray Heifer, before she mercifully headed for trade-in. You’ll notice telltale signs of the moron who took the photo: the hood of our other car parked in front of it, as well as my index finger in the upper right (not to mention it’s slightly out of focus).