Not only was this the car which drove me back and forth from work, it was an extension of me.
What is a car? Pieces of metal, plastics, rubber and glass put together? Well, the left part of your brain may agree but then there is the right side… The two-door black 1991 Acura Integra which I recently donated to WSHU is the first car I bought out of college. I bought it from my brother-in-law when I moved to Long Island, New York, from the state where it is illegal to milk someone else’ cow, many decades ago! The memories I have with this car are strong and some seem just like yesterday.
I remember my first solo trip to Montreal in it, this is pre-9-11 and I was crossing the border dead in the night and all that the border guard asked me was if I had anything. When I said “no” he said “then go”. The second trip to Montreal was with 4 people packed into it, two of them my in-laws. I now wonder how all of us even fit into it. After having gotten married recently this was my first trip with the in-laws and I wanted them to have a good time and they certainly did. It was an epic 7-day trip where after eating all the cheese in Vermont where we stopped enroute, we were ready for the “just for laughs” festival and other activities Montreal had to offer and culminating with breathtaking views of the Niagara Falls.
Not only was this the car which drove me back and forth from work, it was an extension of me. It travelled with me to my table tennis clubs and tournaments. I took it everywhere, be it Port Jefferson and the Belle Terre section for a view of the waters, the beaches at the Hampton’s, Orient Point, Montauk, the car travelled the length and breadth of Long Island and beyond to New York City, Boston, Atlantic city, New Jersey, Washington DC and many places up and down the east coast. At some point (about 10 years ago) it was time to give up the car. I really was not looking to make money from the car. I procrastinated. I liked to see the car in the garage even though it sat there idle.
But then finally this was the year to let go. I looked at the charities around and decided to donate it to WSHU. I have listened to many hours of WSHU: “Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers”. Both my wife and I have listened to the crazy car issues of the callers and laughed at their jokes, “Wait Wait Don’t tell me”, hosted by Peter Sagal, “Marketplace” by Kai Ryssdal and the list goes on. I thought this would be a small way for me to contribute to the mission of NPR. Though I donated the car I did retain a picture of myself with it as a keepsake and also a picture as I bade it a final goodbye.
Tanmoy donated a 1991 Acura Integra to WSHU through the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program.
Thank you, Tanmoy!