The finish line

I can still remember looking at the single largest check I ever wrote. Thousands of dollars, all represented on a small strip of paper. It didn't weight any more than any other check, but the significance of it was heavy. I was about to purchase my first brand new car. Over the next five years my car (the Silver Bullet) has taken me from Montreal to Georgia. We've gone to raves, to beach parties, to crowded cities, to secluded houses. It has scars from near misses and misjudged turns. It's served me flawlessly save for a flat tire. But it was all on borrowed time. The car belonged to the bank, you see, it's wasn't really my car.

Now it is.

As of this morning, my last car payment check cleared the bank. Wave the checkered flags and pop the champagne. The Silver Bullet is now mine.