The loss of a beloved car is a death in the Family

A really sad sight.

On my other blog, "Formenseyesonly," I addressed extreme weather as the new normal. Of course people have to worry about the loss of the home, injuries to the person, possible sickness that might follow a severe storm, and even loss of life arising as a result of the trauma. When viewing scenes of mass destruction there will always be destroyed cars in the mix, however for most the loss of a car hardly even registers. Unless you are a petrol head who has a passion for a finely made vehicle.

When times are normal and we have the time to develop interests, many people choose to invest their focus in their cars or motorcycles. I belong to the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, a group of owners who should treat their wives or husbands as well as they do their cars. Sometimes I think we go way overboard in our passion. I own a Jag Sovereign that was manufactured in 1995, but looks and runs as though it just came out of the showroom. How can this be? For one thing, I drive it very rarely, only on sunny days, and I clean it before returning it to the garage, where I then cover it, including padding where it might be touched or something rested upon it. See what I mean about over the top?

However, even I think that some of my fellow members are really over the top with the type of care and loving attention they vest in their machines.

Now comes the conveyor-belt storms of recent times and rising floods. Do you stay to try and protect your house, or do you take your precious car and flee the area? Perhaps you do the latter, and like so many people the water on the roads overwhelms the car which becomes totally immersed, and it drowns, as though it were a living relative. How do you deal with that?

It's bad enough to have to cope with the loss of the family car and the lack of transport that follows, but something that has had your total focus is enough to drive a person to drink.

I have often wondered what happens to all those cars after the storm. It is no coincidence that the For Sale listing increases, and of course, many cars that have been salvaged from the water will be available for sale. Where only fresh water saturated the car it may be possible to return the car to use, but if salt water submerged the car I would not be interested. Salt is a major killer of cars. On my island, just normal usage where salt spray gets just about everywhere, I have had cars that rusted away from the engine.

So, let us spare a thought for those who loved their cars and motorcycles and lost them to the storms. For such people that must be like adding salt to a gaping wound.

Copyright (c) 2014  Eugene Carmichael