Derelict: 3 for 3

When I saw this VW Beetle today, I thought to myself, "I know what that tarp means."

Like many in my baby boomer generation, I have a long, storied history with this car. Shortly after we were married, fresh out of college, and catapulted into a long-ago, historic recession, we bought a '68 bug for $600. My husband taught me how to drive a stick shift with it.  Among its many personality quirks, it needed to be push started when it rained.  Try that in busy Chicago, where we lived.  While driving to my 23rd birthday dinner, my husband drove through a puddle & water splashed up through floor boards soaking my white birthday dress from the waist down.  That was a deal breaker....

We did not learn our lesson.  About a year later we traded it in for a bright orange 1971 model, when we moved to hilly Cincinnati.  It didn't have AC & the heat was a suggestion.  It caught on fire during a long road trip to my visit my parents. Our cute, orange VW had turned into Herbie The Toxic Bug.

Fast forward to the early 2000's, after the new, improved version was introduced.  Our neighbor was selling their newish Beetle & we went for it hook. line & sinker.  My husband was dazzled by the cool wheels & the "high performance dual exhaust"; but I loved the cobalt blue color & the  little flower holder on the dash.  I was smitten with that car, but shortly after we bought it, the electrical system has a nuclear meltdown on the freeway in San Diego. Towing it to the dealer was not part of the itinerary. 

 We were not surprised when Volkswagen stopped manufacturing the Beetle in 2019.  We will not miss this car.  For better or worse, our future is "Bug Free.".

Three strikes & you're out!   The only way a Beetle will be part of my life is as a Derelict Sunday Blip.