daverea.com

I think Rachel Veitch just became the newest addition to my list of heroes: The odometer on this Florida nonagenarian’s 1964 Mercury Comet is close to rolling past 600,000 miles. She takes meticulous care of the machine, maintaining receipts for every oil change, and even keeping a log of her fuel usage every fill-up. She thinks it’s “ridiculous” that she didn’t need a driving test when she renewed her driver’s license in 2003, and even packs heat in case one of Florida’s miscreants tries to separate her from her “Chariot”:

Classic car experts say the 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente would likely sell for about $3,000 in mint condition, or up to $12,000 if it was restored to new. But Veitch says she’ll never sell, and she packs a .38-caliber handgun in case anyone tries to take her chariot for a ride without her.

“Somebody’s going to go down with me if I get in that situation,” Veitch said. “I’m not going down alone.”

The story of Rachel and her ’64 Comet can probably go a long way to put most of our driving lives in perspective. I started driving in 1996. In the 13 years since my parents [in their genuinely ceaseless generosity] handed me down a 1985 Chevy Caprice Classic, I’ve had five cars – and in about 6 weeks, that number will click up to seven. I’ve had some level of attachment to each of them, and I’m sure that won’t change – but I’m also pretty sure I’ll never feel the level of attachment that Rachel Veitch feels for her cars, either – especially considering her love affair with her Comet has outlasted three marriages!