1995, with my '83 olds growing long in the tooth, and the fact that our Isuzu was getting used for my day job as a roofer, we found we were in the market for a new car. Something nice that Angie could drive and in which we could take road trips. My Dad's neighbor had and auto-body shop and would often purchase vehicles that had been totalled and refurbish them. In fact, he had kind of a car lot thing going... which was strange considering the fact that we lived in a neighborhood. It was this same neighbor in fact who, many years before had drunkenly pulled a handgun on two small boys as they played army one evening. Boy, THAT went over well with my parents.
So, we discovered the '87 Honda Accord Hatchback LXI. I was particularly sold on the LXI: power seats, premium stereo and wheels and (best of all) a sunroof! Aaaahhhh the sunroof, the poor man's convertible. To this day, cars without them are far less appealing in my opinion. Sold! We borrowed $3,500 from the bank (which took FOR-EVER to pay back at $6 an hour!) and off we went.
This was the first car we bought together, so it was kind of special in that way. We did a lot of great things in that car and put nearly 80,000 miles on it in the 4 years we drove it. At one point, my Dad and I repainted it because my wife is kind of a reckless driver and had damaged pretty much all of the vertical surfaces. It was soooo beautiful with the new paint job. Then the next week, the very next week, I dropped a ladder squarely on the hood. Because I was mad and I was in a hurry. Haste does indeed make for waste. Eventually, the A/C quit working, which in Texas is about the same as your engine burning out. I remember replacing the CV axels myself in the shade of a big old pecan tree one spring afternoon. We sold it to my brother-in-law who promptly brought it to end-of-life by running into the back of someone driving a great big van. It was a shame to see the poor thing die.
There were a lot of firsts in the old Honda. We got our first cel phone, our first video camera, I created my first commercial illustration, my brother-in-law beat me up for the first time (in fairness to him, it was the last time too!), we sailed for the first time, tried out rollerblades, redecorated... when you are young and in love it feels like everything in your life is for the first time.