Surprises

My Late wife, Jan, and I were in a terrible car crash in January 2018.  She spent seven hours in surgery, was hospitalized for a month, and was at home as an invalid for the next four months.  Outpatient rehab followed for the remainder of the year.  The car we were in that day was totaled.  We were lucky to escape with our lives.  I was her soul caregiver for that year.

We were in my 2016 Honda CRV when the accident occurred.  I decided to replace it with another one.  My wife’s car, a 2009 Mercedes C-300, was parked in the garage.  I drove it briefly until I received my 2018 CRV.

In February 2019, she had the first of three strokes over the next five months and was an invalid in our home, requiring 24/7 caregiver assistance.  She remained at home until a fourth stroke took her life in August 2021, two years ago.  So, her car has remained in our garage from February 2018 until now, five years.  I would start it every two weeks to keep the battery working.

After she passed away, I was nostalgic about “her car.”  I made no attempt to sell it.  It has incredibly low mileage for a 2009—79,000 miles.  I discussed this with my two sons.  Both urged me to keep her car.  They live out of state and typically fly to St. Louis when they visit.  They logically said that her car would always be here for them to use when in town.  It could also be a backup for me should my CRV be on the blink.  I had my insurance company lower the insurance cost due to the very low miles I ever expected to drive in her car.

We have had a very hot weather pattern here in St. Louis for the past two weeks.  Two days ago, the air conditioner broke in my CRV.  It was an unbearably hot drive home.  The Honda dealer will be unable to work on my car for another week.  I made the appointment and began driving Jan’s car.

The air conditioner works fine on her car, and I felt good about driving it after it was parked for so long in the garage.  Two days ago, I was driving on a short errand from my house when a policeman pulled me over.  I asked him what I had done wrong when he appeared at my window.  I was not speeding and stopped fully at the two stop signs on my route.

He informed me that the tags on my car had expired two years ago!  He was quite surprised, as though I had been driving her car all that time.  I informed him of the situation and confessed that I had not given a moment’s thought to the car’s tags.  He was a kind and empathetic officer and believed me fully.  He then wrote me a ticket.  It was a non-moving violation, so that no points would be assessed.  I told him I would get the safety inspection and emissions check done the next day and asked about continuing to drive the car.  He said that if I were pulled over again, show the officer the ticket he had written, and there should not be a problem.

The next day, I had both the safety inspection and the emissions check done.  I went to the Driver’s License Office this morning and updated my tags.  I was required to get new plates as well.  The officer had told me that my plate number was not in the State system—It had been retired a year after I had failed to register the car.

Leaving the DMV with new plates, tags, and registration, I headed for home, four miles away.  On a side street, once again, a policeman pulled me over.  As he approached the car, I told him that I bet I knew why he did so and mentioned my tags that were still on the car.  He looked as perplexed as the first officer who had pulled me over two days before.  I explained the situation to him, and this time, I could hand him my new plates, tags, and registration.  He was fine with what I had done, and I told him in 15 minutes, I would have the new plates on the car.  He sent me on with the comment, “Have a nice rest of your day.” When I arrived home, I put on the new plates.

After two years, I thought I was pretty well situated about my loss of Jan. There was no residual paperwork arriving, and I was getting on with my life.  2023 has turned out to be a decent year so far.  This incident brought home to me once again my loss and why I had neglected to keep up with the administration of retaining her car during her long ordeal.

I’m glad, in a way, that my AC went out on my CRV.  Doing so had put me in the driver’s seat of my wife’s car—a car we had traveled in during many vacations and even around town.  Some of her things are still in the trunk.  I have found that I like driving it, as I see her image right next to me, as I had done for countless hours in the past.  Some great memories!

I will keep the car,,,

Michael Burroughs is the author of Moving Mountains: Facing Strokes with Faith and Hope.  He lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

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