"Tapout" my Car

I don't name my cars usually, others generally decide on one for me, but my current car does not have a name, simply "Tapout." (I have a "Tapout" sticker on my rear window) I got this car after the passing of my grandmother, and I have enjoyed my time with this car.

Tapout came to me with a few minor issues, best I could tell, but over the past year or so, she has developed several increasingly challenging problems. I don't mind that she isn't a fancy car, or that I am still unsure what her original color is, or was, as things of that nature are simply aesthetic. It's a 1986 Toyota Camry, that I think may have sat for a long time unloved.

The other day I was cruising through the parking lot of my friends' apartment complex, and taking each speed bump with much caution (Tapout needs a front strut), as my rear end came slowly over the bump, I heard loud sounds coming from my "trunk." I figured I had some glass jars in my trunk that were broken. Of course, I keep many glass jars in my trunk, right? Well, come midnight, as my friend Mike is walking me down with all the Rockband gear I notice that my muffler and catalytic converter are sitting peacefully on the pavement. Mike being the guy he is, got down on the ground and took a look at the goings on below my trunk (Thanks Jaime for having such a good husband). He re-attaches the thing to the thingies, and I am on my merry way.

Two days later...

I am returning to Mike and Jaime's place to drop off a fantastic film (300 - the edited PG-13 version) I get halfway through their complex when I hear the muffler drop again, but this time instead of a "broken glass" sound, my car sounds like a race car! Not because it sounds like a finely tuned racing machine, but because it was so loud my ears ached. After talking to Jaime for a few minutes, and she even offering to help me out, I went down resolved to re-attach the thingy to the thingies on my own! Even after getting down and dirty (:)-) the sound was increasingly loud. By the time I got home, my ears ached so badly, and I had to keep my window down to keep from passing out from the exhaust! My car floor vibrated so much, my feet were still tingling as I walked to my door step.

Last night, my cousin came to listen to my car, and I hope that by the time I return from my weekend in who knows where, I will have a better performing car, as my cousin also promises to do a few other things to it to improve it's performance. I sure hope it doesn't die. That would be sad.

ej