Discarding the Past

 

In 1967, I purchased a red convertible Barracuda for $2,500 as I recall maybe less because we (my dad and I) purchased two at the same time.  

I put 100,000 miles on that car in five years, and after 200,000 miles, I had the engine rebuilt, repainted using 1967 paint pigment, and replaced the top that included a glass window.  The interior was still in excellent condition.

All of that cost me another $2,500 and I was willing to invest that money because I was never planning to sell the car.  After 25 years, I purchased antique license plates and was told that an antique car was worth $1,000 for every year of age, if in pristine condition.

In 1997, I found myself in financial straits and was forced to sell the Barracuda.  Needless to say, I made quite a profit, and mourned being forced into that situation for several years before I simply stopped thinking about it and began looking forward instead of backward.

In 2015, my wife and I retired; she was 62, I was 67.  My first task to me being retired, was trashing all the remnants of my 45-year career.  I made 15 trips to the landfill with my 2015 Venza loaded even with the back seat down and boxes in the passenger front seat.

I had no remorse at all over discarding my previous life.

Eight years later, my wife and I downsized our home and what we gave to Habitat for Humanity filled three of their large trucks, leaving us with plenty of items for a yard sale.  Several more trips to the landfill even after the yard sale to get down to the size we needed to be.

Two years later (10 years of retirement) we have missed nothing.