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Pearl is her name.  She was created in Germany in 1971 in a big building that said VW on the front.  Some people put her engine together, some put her body together, some put her brakes together, some put her transmission together, some put her steering together, and some put her tires on.  When she was all finished and freshly painted, she gleamed like a pearl from one of the finest oyster beds.

She started a good life with someone who took good care of her. Thirty-four times she visited a building in North Carolina that also said VW on the front for oil changes, tune ups and whatever parts she needed.  She has papers to prove that.  When Joyce found her in 1994, Pearl was in the best shape of any VW bug that this human had ever seen.  And Joyce knew VW's; she had been driving them since 1972.

Why, Pearl's engine bolts still had their original factory seals.  Her upholstery was original and except for three places where you could just begin to see the white fuzz inside, it almost looked new.  All the knobs were intact on the dashboard, which also looked new.  The heat even worked, levers and all, which any VW owner knows is highly unusual.  Her paint had worn a little thin in the front, from pushing through dust and dirt and bugs.  So she got new paint the summer before last.  The rubber on her brake pedal is smooth on one edge, but that's to be expected on a car that has journeyed 245,327 miles.  That's enough to go across the whole United States 82 times, enough to go around the world almost 10 times, enough to go all the way to the moon and get 1/3 of the way back to earth.

Pearl goes wherever Joyce needs to go.  She takes Joyce to work and school and shopping and sightseeing and visiting.  She sometimes needs new parts, but she never leaves Joyce stranded.  Once she needed a new gas filter, and bless her heart, she gave every ounce of strength on a Sunday morning to make it to a shopping center where there was one gas filter on the shelf.  At the shopping center entrance, and could go no farther.  Fifteen minutes later, after the store had opened, Pearl had a new gas filter.  It had been changed right there in the parking lot.

Pearl stands with pride.  She cruises along the highway with pride.  PUH-puh-puh-puh, PUH-puh-puh-puh, PUH-puh-puh-puh, PUH-puh-puh-puh move her four cylinders, back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.  She doesn't strain herself at all.  Everything is tuned up and she loves to run.

She had her engine rebuilt in 1995.  She had new shoes put on her brakes several times.  It's important to be able to stop whenever we are heading for something that could destroy us.  She prefers 93 octane gas instead of 87, just like people prefer steak to fatty hamburger. She had a little wobble at high speeds, but Joyce found an expert who balances her tires right on the car.  Most shops balance tires on a special machine, not on the car itself.  She gets new tires every fall to help her push through any snow that falls in the winter.  She gets bathed and waxed whenever she starts to look a little tired.  She likes to have her oil changed every 3,000 miles, and Joyce scoots underneath at the same time to adjust her valve clearances to four thousandths of an inch.  This should keep her going for a long, long time.  Joyce will listen to her and give her anything she needs, because this car and this human hope to grow old together.