Van

Rosetta got a new van. This was completely unexpected, and largely the result of others' misfortunes and a lot of help from BJ's mom. I'm so used to a cramped, hot mess that this new thing seems far too luxurious and a little excessive, almost "bourgeois." But it does solve a lot of potential problems on several fronts: having too much gear, not being able to take people with us, engine overheating, not being able to pull a trailer, not being able to sleep in the van, etc.

Still, I'm ambivalent. I find myself missing the old white junker, and feeling bad that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. It was a home away from home (albeit an uncomfortable one) for many years, the only van I've ever toured in, a tiny space in which countless memories were made. This past summer we drove it 13,181.4 miles (half the circumference of the earth) in 46 days without a single problem. And it got great gas mileage too. Most people get rid of their car and don't think much about it, but then again, most people don't go long periods where they spend more time in their car than they do in houses. I miss that thing, because it wasn't really a van, it was a tiny little house that traveled. I could be in the middle of nowhere, sleeping on the roof under the stars, and still feel like I was in a familiar place, just because I was on top of the van, and it held everything I had.

A stupid sentiment perhaps, nostalgia wasted on a 1994 Ram 150. But I've probably spent more time in that van than most of my friends have spent in their college apartments.