200 Large

Yesterday, Rhonda (my totally awesome '91 Accord) hit a milestone that most cars only dream of: 200,000 miles. To help Rhonda celebrate, I'm giving her two more stickers: a Velvet Underground sticker to balance the White Stripes sticker on the other side of the rear-window middle brake light, and a "Mark it 8, dude" sticker for the bumper. I know, I know. You're jealous because you wish you had the moxie to put a "Mark it 8, dude" bumper sticker on your car. But that's just one of the many advantages of having Rhonda over your car.

A lot of people give me guff (either to my face or behind my back--don't think I don't know) because I'm a lawyer who drives a '91 Accord. I walk to work anyway, I've never had a car payment, and I get 30+ mpg. Pardon me for not giving a shit, but I simply don't get impressed by people with expensive cars. Anyone with money or a smidge of credit can get a new car. Hell, I could if I wanted to. But it takes grit, determination, and a bit of cockeyed optimism to make a car last 200,000 miles. So you can have your shiny new car, your 18 mpg, your GPS, your fancy in-dash CD player, your antenna that actually goes up and down, and your several hundred dollars a month car payment. I'll gladly take my monthly payment of zero, filing up only once every 450 miles, oil changes every 7,500 miles, sweet bumper stickers, and carefree lifestyle.