Chevrolet Nova Memories

R.I.P. Chevy Nova, AKA Phantasm (not Fantasmic, as I had originally posted -- Thanks, Dave!)
1989 - 2008

Stats:
Survived six teenagers
Suffered multiple accidents
180,000+ Miles
Two Paint Jobs
Two Windshields
Scratches, dents, much tinkering
.
However, it was the best car, ever! It just kept trudging along. But now the Kidney Foundation will be reaping the benefits. After a tumultuous 15+ years in the Meyer family, it was time to go. Here he is . . .

Bryan, it's last driver, was kind enough to pose with him for one final time (sniff, sniff).

Memories, fond and not so fond:
-In an attempt to impress some boys, I floored it going up Grandview Hill and caught some air. Tsk, tsk (my kids will not be reading this). No boys are worth that rush!
-As I drove along 820 North in Provo, I decided to show Sara S. my brights and kept turning them on and off, obviously annoying the driver in front of me, who happened to be in this huge truck. I didn't mean any harm, but I guess I didn't clue in how irksome I was being. He pulled over to the side of the road and began to tail me menacingly. I was scared to death and sped up Grandview Hill (what is it about that place?) and darted through the streets trying to escape. I finally found a side street, turned off my lights, and ducked. We finally ditched him, and I was so shaken.
-I hit a jeep at an intersection while picking up my brother from summer band (my other brother was crying in the back seat, and as I tried to console him I didn't realize traffic had stopped until it was too late). I didn't damage the jeep, but the Nova was certainly damaged -- the hood looked like a teepee. Since the jeep took off, I did as well. Technically I was involved in a hit-and-run, and I lived in fear for months that the police would come after me.
-One day in second period at PHS, I realized I didn't have my keys. Between classes I ran out to the parking lot, wondering if I had locked them in the car. I discovered a far worse thing . . . the car was still ON, but the doors were locked. My car had been idling for hours in the winter cold. The call to my mom was humiliating, and she was none too pleased.
-In my first experience driving on ice, I did a 360 degree turn on Center Street. Fortunately, traffic was light, so we weren't in any danger. Despite my idiocy, my Dad was so kind.
-I seemed to be the driver in my group of friends (for the girls, at least -- Reg was the boy driver in our group). I have many fond memories of singing along to the radio, fun girls' choice dates, and lots of laughs. Man, as I think about this, I don't think I want my kids driving . . . EVER!!! How distracted was I? Amazingly, I survived.

Other memories that indirectly involved me:
-My brother, David, decided a fun trick would be to fill a pop bottle with water and bounce it on the driveway from the upper story window. Well, it certainly bounced, and then it landed on the car's windshield, breaking it to bits. I could smell the fear emanating from his body.
-I was a passenger this time, but as my brother, Scott, was driving on the freeway, the hood flipped up and he could no longer see (is that right, Scott, or was someone else driving?). He managed to pull over without getting hit -- a miracle indeed. Maybe it was a sign that the Nova just wanted to end it right there, so he tried to make it happen. Why am I personifying this vehicle?
-Mysterious, unexplained dents would appear on the Nova quite regularly. Okay, sibs . . . fess' up!!!!


As a side note, look at that snow! It was so intense that I was snowed in for a few days at the beginning of our Utah trip. The roads were so bad that it wasn't worth trekking anywhere (except to Holli's, of course).