while cleaning out my apartment prior to my move a few days ago i found a set of keys and a pen-knife key-chain that belonged to a ‘ 77 blue chevy impala i once owned, and drove across the usa and parts of canada twice. while i owned the car i didn’t have a license, never changed the title, and had no insurance. i bought it for $250 from a postal worker in colorado on a whim. i was 21 and couldn’t be bothered with paper work of any kind. i finally abandoned the car but kept the keys as a souvenir. i hadn’t seen them in many years.
tonight i’m in nyc visiting my father. when i walked into the apartment he said hello and within a few seconds told me he had just found a letter i’d written him years ago explaining why i bought and drove a car around without insurance or a license. according to him, he and i had some serious fights over that blue chevy impala and the car and my use of it symbolized more to me than a young man’s need to get from here to there. i haven’t looked at the letter yet, but he said it’s about twelve pages long. he found it as he was cleaning out his apartment before he moves. it was mixed up with some old greeting cards and other stuff he was about to throw away.
odd coincidence, eh?