Red Eye

"Take the long way home." Supertramp

For sale, as is. 1984 Toyota Tercel, sun-faded red, good for wild road trips, and doubles as office space for start-up magazines.

A legacy came to an end in early October. I drove my last mile in my Tercel, and there will be no more spontaneous road trips, press runs, or dangerous break downs with my beloved steed. Consider this: the odometer read 379,420 when I walked away from it October 4th. That's as many miles as you would log circumnavigating the globe nearly 16 times. Over that mileage it has hauled everything: magazines, oversized couches, my surfboard, rabid animals, and many brave passengers. In the infancy of Student World Traveler, I remember picking up 16,000 magazines from the printer, shoving them to the brim in the Tercel, and driving 40 miles with the car completely weighed down, tailpipe throwing sparks on the freeway. Unfortunately, the car was a mechanic's dream because it broke down with more regularity than a digital clock; not that breaking down is such a horrible thing, since adversity in travel often brings out the best discoveries. My "adventures" seemed to happen at the worst possible time and place. Once the alternator went out on a distribution run to San Francisco. Seven thousand magazines stacked in the back and a deadline 500 miles and a few hours away. I coasted to the shoulder okay, but only the hazard lights worked. After a few minutes, even those went out. I didn't even have reading lights to make use of the thousands of magazines in the back seat.

The Tercel wasn't the most exotic mode of transportation, nor the most dependable, but it got me there one way or another usually. Most travel is like that, I guess. It's not always easy to get where you want to be, but the harder it is, the more you're glad to have arrived. I'm glad this issue's finally arrived, and by the way, if you're looking for a great little car at a good price, I have one for you.

$800 or best offer,

Eric Tiettmeyer