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National Post

Senior Living: An auto biography

Let me introduce myself. I am a car and my family name is Buick. My given name is Allure which I really like. I am a member of the General Motors family and my owner calls me Maximilian. That is because that's what she called all her transport vehicles. In fact her first Maximilian was her bicycle in Hungary. The rest were new cars, all members of the General Motors family except the first one, a used car whose odometer was reset and that emitted smoke front and back. Article content Article content Article content My owner's name is Alice and we have been together for over 18 years, so you can see I am quite a mature car. She picked me up brand new at Gravel Auto on Nun's Island. I am a handsome car, even if I say so. My exterior colour is a subdued beige and so is the interior. I can seat four to five people comfortably and am a bit too big for my single owner but she likes it that way. Article content I am writing my memoirs now because my stay with Alice is ending and I don't want to forget our good times together. Article content Alice and I had some nice trips together and I got to know Montreal and its environs. A favourite was a trip to the Westmount Lookout with a great view of the city. She also likes historic places and many rides took us to Old Montreal and the Notre-Dame-De-Bon-Secours chapel. I must say I had quite a time navigating the narrow streets of Old Montreal but I didn't mind. It was so interesting. We also went several times to the Maison Saint-Gabriel, a lovely old house that dates back to the first settlers of Ville-Marie, as Montreal was then called. We also crossed Mount Royal and I enjoyed the scenery on both sides of the road. Article content Article content But Alice also drove me farther afield. We visited her friends on the West Island and crossed the St Lawrence River to the South Shore. Other trips took us to the Eastern Townships and the Laurentians where I enjoyed the scenery, particularly the fall colours. Article content I also got to know some of Alice's family and friends when they were passengers In the car. I picked up some Hungarian, which is Alice's native language but it is a difficult language to learn. Article content Alice is a careful driver — still we had some run-ins with the law and had fines to pay. One-time she did not stop for a school bus on the other side of the street and was fined. At other times we were rescued by the CAA in difficult situations. I am glad she kept up her membership. Article content Alice has taken good care of me. Twice a year we visited Emilio and Adriano in their garage. They checked me, fixed what needed fixing, changed tires and off we drove. Another place we visited was the car wash where Reza and the boys made me look my best inside and outside.