For love or money: how much is too much to save the [Ford Laser] you love?
By Anna Deacon • Dec 11th, 2008 • Section: Melbourne Talks
I love my car like I love hummingbird cake with cream cheese icing – i.e. with all the love in my heart. It’s a red 1987 Ford Laser, classic swamp-brown interior, and smells slightly of mildew after rain. Its name is Bronson after the red-haired kid from Round the Twist. The only reason dear Bronson comes up is that I’ve just spent $2000 getting it fixed… and he only cost that to start with. Lame, lame, lame.
But yes, it was worth it. I bought the car with my hard earned cash, before I even got my licence, so there’s a lot of sentimental value in wee Bronson – the malodorous embodiment of my transportational independence. (Are there awards for outrageous sentences? There should be – prizes in cake).
So this is the thing – how far do you go, monetarily or otherwise, to keep the things you love or really value from going to Hades? Many people would have said no-thank-you-sir when quoted a $2000 bill for their $2000 car. More personally, most of us have been in the sad position of having to have a much loved but old or sick pet put to sleep, when the only alternative was a bank loan. But, in the same vein, how swell is it to discover some old relic of your youth online or in an op shop – your favourite book, the complete collection of Don Spencer’s greatest hits (including Feathers, Fur and Fins), Gumby figurines…
Sometimes, in the case of your old bitsa or tabby, you’ve got to be cruel to be kind…but if you’ve got the cash – go for gold! So this leaves us with three questions. How much have you paid for something you really wanted? Where would you draw the line? And where is that kid Bronson these days? (No seriously, where is he?)
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The last I heard of Bronson, he was co/producing Neighbours. At least, the one I’m thinking of was.