Friends of ours knew our 1990 Dodge Spirit as "Bessie." We named her that because she was originally my Grandma Bessie King Yoder's car. Pictured above is my grandma Bessie, my dad Ed, my brother Terry, and my nephew Austin—4 generations—at Bessie's 100th birthday party. Here is a bit of Bessie (the car's) history:
1990—Grandma bought the auto from Hartwig Motors (Iowa) when she was 84 years old.
1998—Grandma sold the car to my brother (Pennsylvania) with 32,000 miles on it.
2003—Terry gave the car to Bob and me (Virginia) with 75,000 miles on it when we were home one summer from Palestine.
2004—My niece Kimberly, (Ohio) inherited the prized family possession at 83,000 miles.
2008—Bessie came "home" to Bob and me for our year-long stay in Virginia. The odometer read 117,000 miles, but it had stopped working a few months prior.
2010—We donated Bessie to the "Good News Garage" in Burlington, Vermont before leaving the country again
1998—Grandma sold the car to my brother (Pennsylvania) with 32,000 miles on it.
2003—Terry gave the car to Bob and me (Virginia) with 75,000 miles on it when we were home one summer from Palestine.
2004—My niece Kimberly, (Ohio) inherited the prized family possession at 83,000 miles.
2008—Bessie came "home" to Bob and me for our year-long stay in Virginia. The odometer read 117,000 miles, but it had stopped working a few months prior.
2010—We donated Bessie to the "Good News Garage" in Burlington, Vermont before leaving the country again
Like the average American, Bessie moved five times in the 20 years she lived among the Yoders. Alyse and Austin, above, were the kids in the car's life. Bessie had her share of repairs, especially in the past two years, but for the most part, she ran very well, trudging on even at 20 years old! She was happy, but she let us know when she did not want to move anymore. When we sold our home in Virginia, the power window on the driver's side stopped working. When we left Pennsylvania for a trip to the Midwest and Vermont, the AC went kaput. Riding around in Bessie at 90 degrees outside with no AC was great preparation for Kuwait! And so we decided to let go of Bessie, though it was not easy. Grandma died two years ago at age 102, and since then I loved having her automobile, such a tangible reminder of Grandma.
We all enjoyed many things about Grandma Bessie, the person. Kimberly, above, enjoyed looking at Grandma's calendars and diaries when she visited her at age 101. But all that is for another blog post! What did we fancy about Bessie, the Dodge Spirit?
- Terry thought she was a great car for hauling around two young children.
- Though not many high school students would see the value in driving a vintage car around town, Kimberly and her friends thought Bessie was pretty cool.
- Bessie's cushioned and comfy bench seats allowed her to hold six people, all with seat belts.
- Her turn signal made that old-fashioned loud clinking noise that caused first-time passengers to do a double-take.
- She had power windows and power locks, pretty modern for her time.
- Bessie was conducive to music. There was no CD or cassette player, but Bob and I created many songs in the front seat of that car on road trips, the ukulele being our instrument of choice.
The Good News Garage is a program of Lutheran Social Services. Since 1996 when it began in Bob's hometown of Burlington, it has given 3,500 vehicles to people in need at affordable prices. For more info, go to goodnewsgarage.org.
Bessie, we will miss you! We believe what your bumper sticker proclaims: GOD BLESS THE WHOLE WORLD, NO EXCEPTIONS! We trust that you will give your next owners as much joy as you gave us! We hope you will be well cared-for! Terry, thanks for sharing the joy!
Don't worry. It wasn't I who got the tattoo. It was my niece Natalie. I was a mere accomplice on that day, holding her hand while Bob photographed and videoed the process. After the big event, Natalie and I wrote the hit song "I Got a Tattoo." 
The tattoo reads "Agape." Natalie chose this word, written and drawn to look like a human being, based on the verse in Colossians that talks about "clothing ourselves in love." The verse had special significance during Natalie's year in Mexico, and now, she'll be reminded of it for the rest of her life. Here are the words to the song:
I got a tattoo; I got a tattoo.
Below is a short video clip of our first take on the song. (Unfortunately, technical failure cut us off before we were done.) If you're interested in the sequel written by my sisters, niece, and I to sing back to Natalie, you can find it on my Facebook wall, posted by my mom. By the way, the part about that song sticking in my head is so true. I have probably sung the song hundreds of times since its creation in June. Hopefully, someday, I can get the rest of the original posted here, or somewhere.