Pre-Thanksgiving Deer Car or How Maxine Went Out with a Bang

Everyone one who knows me will know I used to drive a green, '96 Ford Explorer named Maxine, who was the precursor to the Green Dragon. Maxine was actually my mom's car. She was Mom's first new car. The day that we got it, Mom took Noona and I out for a ride to see how fast she'd go.


Mom: We should name this car.

Noona: What should we name it?

Mom: It's a girl's car, so we'll give it a girl's name.

Laura: (Looking at the air conditioning dial - A/C Max) How about Max?

Mom: Maxine!


And Maxine had a name.

My first car was a white, 1990 Oldsmobile Royale named the White Stallion. I took that car to college where it stalled out on a hill and started rolling to a watery doom when it started again (whew!). When I told Mom about that, she and Dad drove eight hours to drop off Maxine and eight hours back home in one weekend.

And Maxine became my car.

She was great. I drove her for three out of my four college years and probably put a hundred bajillion miles on her driving between home and college for holidays and vacations. Almost all of my friends have been in Maxine.

My last year of college, I had to switch to the Green Dragon, because Maxine was getting up there in years and miles. It was weird for a little bit, but still okay.

Then last Friday, Dad was driving home and became the proud owner of a deer car. It was Maxine. (Wahhh!)

Dad was okay, of course, or else this post would be about something completely different. He hit the deer bomb at 11:00 at night, and he completely obliterated it. At first I thought that someone had taken the deer because I didn't see it when I drove by the next day. Upon closer inspection however, I saw that the front half of the deer was hidden by tall grass, and the back half was about five feet away from the front half. Not pretty.

Both the headlights were busted and the grill was smashed, but Maxine was still drivable and she got my Dad home safe and sound with yellow lights a-blinking.

Dad's going to get a new (used) car. He says it's about time anyway, the brakes weren't so great on Maxine and she had 170,000 miles on her.

I just wish I had a picture.