"I'm walking down the lonely street of dreams" __ Whitesnake __ 'Here I Go Again On My Own'
I never thought I'd say or type these words...
"My Monte Carlos are sold."
That is, they'll be gone by the end of this weekend (last of July 2012), unless a "miracle" happens yet this week (don't see that being the case).
I wouldn't have believed it if someone had told me while I was on my 2011 9,000+ mile road trip that, in the next 12+ months, I'd...
...have my 4th open heart surgery 11/11/2011 (will have another CT scan in mid-August)
...lose my job less than 3 weeks after returning to full-time (still searching)
...attend the 2012 MC Nationals & be hospitalized w/pneumonia 6 hours after returning home (still on medication)
...& be "monte less" (due to medical bills, etc.; my cars are considered "assets")....
But, all of that has/is happening. So, with my MCs gone, it is time to stop prolonging the inevitable & say goodbye.
A few weeks ago, I happened to see the series finale of "Frasier", the popular "Cheers" spin-off. At the end of the episode, Frasier quotes a shortened version of Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Ulysses":
"It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And though we are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are—
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will;
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
After reciting the poem, Frasier remarks:
"I’ve been thinking about that poem a lot lately, & I think what it says is that, while it’s tempting to play it safe, the more we’re willing to risk, the more alive we are. In the end, what we regret most are the chances we never took."
I've taken chances & let chances slip away. Since I'll be "free-er", maybe it's time to take a few more chances. Saying goodbye is one; life has a way of changing us in ways we never expect. While I am very unhappy right now, perhaps my MCs are better off with new owners. Maybe I'm better off, too; after all, my rear-wheel-drive-only-nameplate Caprice Classic (1979 sedan) remains with me.
"Another dream that ended way too soon" __ Restless Heart __ 'The Bluest Eyes In Texas'
It has been a great run, though, owning 5 MCs for 9 years, 1 for ~20 years. I've met many of you in person via my road trips, cruise nights, events & car shows, including the 2008 MidSummer Chitown Gathering, which set a record of 65 people & is the ONLY gathering/event that ALL of my MCs attended together:
http://pics.projectmonte.com/album/12498
"This is just a stop on the way to where I'm going" __ Carrie Underwood __ 'Temporary Home'
Since I'll no longer visit here regularly, if you want to keep in contact, please do via my...
...website (changes soon?)...:
http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
...recently-reactivated Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/knightcaprice269177989
...EM & PH#:
faithcubsmc2691
@
aol.com
847-
337-
9897
...Roads'n'Wheels/Caprice Classic Forum:
http://rdwhl-capriceclassic.proboards.com/
For now, I will continue to own the 3rd generation MC board...
...though, if anyone is interested in taking them over, please let me know.
I think that's it. I'd like to share more, but this post would be too long. Perhaps it IS too long for "goodbye". As a famous sportscaster said at the end of every baseball telecast, "So long, everybody!"
"When we make choices we gotta live with them" __ Darius Rucker __ 'Don't Think I Don't Think About It'
Someone mentioned that maybe my "miracle" is just being alive & I should be happy with that. I can't argue; perhaps life turning around for me is too much to ask. As someone else told me personally, while we are not given more than we can handle, we are, generally given what we deserve. I take that FWIW. Fighting pneumonia, searching for a new job & paying medical bills isn't fun, but I'm still trying to look ahead & keep up hope/spirits/positivity....
But, I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry the last weekend of July. Talk about TOUGH, in many ways. The '72 left Saturday; the '76 & '87 left Sunday. All 3 are now in new homes, better than what I could ever give them.... '72 to Minnesota '76 to far northern IL '87 to MIchigan
The '81 will go to either my parents or sister/bro-in-law.
Meanwhile, in a strange twist of fate, my '79 MC will remain mine, for now. So, I will have a '79 MC & a 1979 Caprice Classic. I will continue the 3rd generation MC board & be active there: http://thirdgenmontes.proboards.com/index.cgi?
[The 6th generation yahoo group, after consulting with Rob (who created it 12 years ago), will most-likely be closed.]
I'll also be on the Roads'n'Wheels/Caprice Classic Forum: http://rdwhl-capriceclassic.proboards.com/
Or, of course, FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/knightcaprice269177989
If interested, check out my website BEFORE it changes. Right now, it includes road trip pics, my MC story, radio show playlist, different collections, etc.: http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
Additional pics (including Route 66 & other recent road trips) are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/knightfan26917
7 "last" pictures....
07/28/2012 ... Last day all 5 of my MCs are a family. Seen best here: 1987 (blue), 1979 (green), 1981 (tan).
07/28/2012 ... Last day all 5 of my MCs are a family. Seen best here: 1981 (tan), 1972 (brown), 1976 (black).
07/28/2012 ... My 1972 MC sold & ready to go to its new home:
07/29/2012 ... My 1976 MC sold & ready to go to its new home. Look at that dirty, but still shiny, bumper.
07/29/2012 ... My 1976 MC sold & ready to go to its new home. Once again, I see that "frown" in the tail end ... the same "frown" I saw in my parents' 1976 MC when we traded it, September 1984.
07/29/2012 ... My 1987 MC sold & ready to go to its new home. By the time this one was out the door of the garage/storage barn, I couldn't take it anymore. After the new owner left, I sat in my '81 MC for almost an hour. I don't think I need to spell out the emotions.... This is the one that my nephew had "claimed" just 8 months prior....
07/29/2012 ... & then there were 2; 1981 MC (tan) & 1979 MC (light green). While you can't see it all that well in this shot, the '81 MC has the now former plates of my '76 (SECND 76) & '87 (CDS MC 87) MCs, while the '79 MC holds the former plate of my '72 MC (BRWNY 72). I had taken another pic with flash, but this one seems a bit more ... appropriate.
Cort | 38.m.IL | pigValve + paceMaker + cowValve | '79 MC + 1979 Caprice Classic CHD.MC.CC + RoadTrips.hobbies.RadioShows.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort "Lately I've been thinking I should move away" __ Eddy Money __ 'I'll Get By'
