Goodbye Scuba Bunny; I will miss you

Read Managing Editor Mike Colombo’s reminiscences of vehicles gone by.

As of the writing of this column, there was a crushed 2000 Chevrolet pickup truck sitting in the carport of my palatial Robin Hood Road estate.

That seemed more appropriate than parking it on the side of Carrington Place like an Alabama yard ornament. You’re welcome, my neighbors.

Also, as of the writing of this column, my beloved 1994 Nissan Pathfinder — previously owned by Charlotte Atkins — was parked at a local fast food restaurant waiting to be towed to Pathfinder heaven. The Scuba Bunny bumper sticker was her doing, but I kept it on there just for laughs.

The vehicle served me well for nearly five years, but I had to decide if I want to help my favorite mechanic Mike Ford make another house payment or buy another “side of the road” truck.

Don’t worry, Mike, you know how my “side of the road” trucks work out. I’ll be sending more work your way, I promise.

Driving the Pathfinder got to be an interesting adventure.

Neither of the front doors could open from the outside because both of the handles were broken.

Only the passenger-side rear door would open from the outside. If you work out those permutations, it means that if I forgot and locked the doors, the only way I could get into the vehicle was through the hatch at the back. One night I had to do that leaving church and was certain I was going to get arrested for breaking and entering.

The final straw for the Nissan came the MIKE COLOMBO Illustration by Lee Field, RN-T

other night when it wouldn’t start up after I turned the key. I was done.

The fate of the Chevrolet pickup is another story.

A few weeks ago my son was driving it and got rear-ended while stopped behind another vehicle. More than a week later the other guy’s insurance was still stonewalling.

I was told by my insurance company I would be better off to take the truck out of storage and tow it to my house in case the settlement takes longer than expected. Those weren’t comforting words.

So I’m caught in automobile insurance limbo, although hell might be more appropriate. Perhaps Deacon Stuart Neslin at St. Mary’s Catholic Church can give me some guidance in which is more appropriate.

Meanwhile, it’s not easy coordinating the comings and goings of three people with only one vehicle. I realize that temporarily not having three cars is a firstworld problem, but it does create issues.

If I could catch a bus in my neighborhood and be downtown in a timely manner,

I would. Unfortunately that type of public transportation doesn’t exist in my neck of the woods.

I have also thought about getting a little motorcycle, but that’s out of the question.

Perhaps I need to get a bicycle. MANY years ago I occasionally pedaled from stately Sherwood Forest to the newspaper, but that was when we were an afternoon paper and I had to be at work at 5 a.m. There are not a lot of people on Kingston Road at 5 a.m., and even the drunk driver can manage to miss a slow guy pedaling a bike at that time of day.

There have been times when I thought about buying a horse. It would cut down on my son’s lawn-mowing responsibilities, provide compost for my garden and amuse my neighbors.

I’ll be vehicle shopping soon, but in the meantime we will just have to endeavor to persevere. If you see me hitching a ride on Kingston Road, please stop and give me a lift.