Now Just a Purple Sparkle in My Eye

Dune buggies come, and dune buggies go go go. It was time for this one to bring delight to some other car-lover. That car guy came along today and drove away the Barbie Car, with plans (gasp!) to paint it Arctic Cat green. Let's hope he comes to his senses. The proud owner also gathered up the miscellaneous parts accumulated over the years, and later he came back from Sioux Falls to get the donor car for the motor, a 1975 Super Beetle.

My favorite moments?

• Having the buggy entirely airborne up on the farm.
  
• Dragging it home with son David, who sat at the wheel and proclaimed, "I LOVE THIS CAR!" It didn't even run yet.
  
• Doing emergency-brake spins with various unsuspecting passengers.
  
• Firing it up for the first time, even though, when I hit the end of the towrope, I slammed into the driver's door of the pickup. Oops!
  
• Cruising down the streets of Ramona for the Independence Day parade, doling out Freezie Pops to little kids.
• Teaching son Casey to drive on the country roads.
  
• Cruising for asparagus.
  
• Hearing my little niece Emily dub it the Barbie Car.
  

It was a cool car, one that people remembered seeing. It made all the little kids smile.