My story begins in 2001, when I purchased my brand new Ford Explorer. I spotted it on the lot at Herb Chambers Ford in Braintree, Massachusetts. It was Forest Green and just what I was looking for! I was the main driver for over ten years and enjoyed it every single day I owned it. It may sound silly to be emotionally attached to an automobile, but I was.

My Explorer carried me to work, went on vacations with me, crawled through the muddy back roads of Allegany State Park in New York State with me more than once. It protected me in stormy weather and was a safe and solid vehicle in snow and ice storms. Sadly, I recently lost it in an accident near my home, so this story is really a memorial to a friend that I miss very much.

My Explorer was such a perfect fit for me. Almost immediately it became a part of me, so familiar to me that I didn't even have to look to use the controls. The seats were so comfortable and fit me perfectly. It had 285,000 miles on it at the time of the accident and was still running perfectly, because I used to take meticulous care of it.

It still looked like new, inside and out and it ran like new. My mechanic understood that my goal was to keep it running for as long as I possibly could, and helped me to maintain it. He rebuilt the transmission for me about a year ago, and just a few months ago, I bought new top-of-the line Michelin tires for it. My mechanic said we were good to go for another 100,000 miles!

But then, in an instant, it was taken away by a driver who ran a red light and smashed into the passengers side of the car, at an intersection about a mile away from my house. The side airbag deployed and the entire passenger's side of the car was pushed in. Even the T-bar that the doors are attached to was twisted and destroyed. The appraiser said that T-bar, and the fact that the Explorer is such a solidly built vehicle, probably saved my life.

I have no major physical injuries, but emotionally, I will never be the same. I am so sad that my Explorer is now gone... towed away from the accident scene (the police had to give me a ride home that night...) and declared a total loss by my insurance company the very next day! I am angry that I was forced to go shopping for another vehicle, and that now I have car payments again. The auto loan for my Explorer was paid in full over six years ago! And now I am nervous to go through that intersection... always expecting another driver to come flying through.

My Ford Explorer was a part of me, a part of my identity. It got me to work and back every day, we traveled out to Western New York State many times to visit with my friend who lives out there. Another favorite road trip was to Western New Jersey where my aunt used to live. Many times we would drive up through the Delaware Water Gap and enjoy the scenery, or stop along the river for a hike. And I am a Geocacher, which sometimes takes me off paved roads and onto gravel logging roads or trails. My Explorer handled everything I wanted to do with ease.

My friend dubbed it USS QUILLS, because my license plate says "QUILLS" and also because we parked it in a parking lot near a tidal salt marsh once, during a flood high tide. After doing some exploring in the marshes, we came back to find my Explorer sitting in six inches of water! The tide was coming in fast around my car, and we didn't notice! I have to say... it's the only time my Explorer looked a little nervous... haha!

After the accident, I immediately went in search of another Explorer like it, but came away incredibly disappointed because most of the 10-year old Explorers available for sale are in very rough shape. One used-car dealer assured me that the car I was inquiring about was clean and in great shape. After driving over an hour to get to that used car store, I discovered that the Explorer I inquired about was worn out, ripped seats and smelly on the inside... and outside, there were long scrape marks from front to back on the passengers' side. Obviously, that car had been in a similar accident! I couldn't believe that the used car dealer would show me a car with damage like that after I told him that is exactly how I lost my own Explorer!

So... I ended up at Hampton Ford, a dealership near my house, and that is where I found, by chance, the Jeep that I purchased. It was not what I was looking for, but it is a newer model, a 2009, and it's got some nice features, but if I could have MY Explorer back, I would swap it in an instant.

As you can see, I have always been passionate about my Ford Explorer and never had any intention of driving anything else! But now that its gone, I think that sharing a photo and my story would be a wonderful way to preserve its memory and would also provide some closure for me.

The photo was taken in my driveway, which faces east. I noticed the morning sunrise reflecting in the windows of my Explorer, my Friend... and managed to capture the effect. It seems like a fitting farewell image to share with this story.

Patricia