The things we grow attached to

By Matt Dooley
Production Coordinator
Published: January 22, 2008

My husband and I recently bought a car.  We had been driving a Jeep and a pick-up truck.  The truck was getting up there in miles so we decided to make a change.  Matt’s truck got traded… he gets my Jeep… and I got the car, a 2002 Volvo.  Now, I love the car but it was hard for me to say goodbye to my Jeep.  I have driven a Jeep for the last ten years of my life! 

So we go to the dealership on Saturday to make the big move.  They take Matt’s truck…we get in the Volvo to run a couple of errands before heading home.  We are filling up the gas tank and Matt says, “Where’s my water bottle?” 

This water bottle has been around for a long time.  It is just a grey and black bottle that he used to use on his mountain bike.  It wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a new one.

I said, “I haven’t seen it.”

He says, “I think I left it in the truck and that guy drove off in it.”

He gets in the car and we proceed to head back to the dealership for a ratty old water bottle and a Virginia Tech huggie (we have a million of them) that had kept his Diet Dr. Pepper cold from the house to the car lot.

I’m thinking do we really need to chase your truck down for this?  I let him go on with his mission. 

We start heading back to the dealership on Williamson Road and Matt says, “There goes my truck!”

We turn around and start following his red pick-up as if we had left our last paychecks in the glove box or something.  The truck’s driver makes a turn into another lot.  Before I know it we are parked by the truck Matt gets out of the car and just opens the truck passenger door like we still own it or something.

The guy getting out of the driver side looked only mildly startled.

Matt finds the water bottle and huggie in the passenger seat and says, “This is my water bottle and Virginia Tech huggie.  I forgot to get them out.” 

The truck’s driver says, “Help yourself.”

Matt gets in the car both relieved and thrilled.  I say, “Honey, it’s a water bottle and a huggie.”

He says, “But it has Virginia Tech on it.”

I thought for a brief second about how much pride Hokies have in everything Virginia Tech and said, “Well, you’re right.”

My long winded point is that whether it is a ratty water bottle or an old Virginia Tech huggie when it belongs to you and you want to hang onto it, more power to you for getting it back or finding it.