“And now the sun’s coming up, I’m riding with Lady Luck, freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I’d stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, let me tell you that the feeling’s getting stronger.”- Tom Waits, ‘Ol 55

Rod: Despite my best efforts, and the conviction that THIS was going to be the vehicle that stayed with me forever, at 110, 945 miles my Chevy van failed inspection the other day. To anticipate state regulations,  I packed and sanded globs of  Bondo into rusty holes in a fender and rocker panel, but couldn’t patch the cancerous abscess in the engine block that was leaking coolant at an alarming rate. Feeling like a battlefield scavenger, I stripped the electronic EZ-Pass tag, license plate and registration from the Venture. Another untimely death of a Bunt automobile.