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September 27, 2002
Become an organ donor
Get rid of your old car and receive a tax deduction.
JAMIE BONHAM SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
It was known simply as the Wag: a blue Dodge Aries station wagon,
referred to by many as a K-car, for reasons still unclear to me.
But the Wag had done me proud. I had logged thousands of kilometres
travelling all over the province and the Wag had been a trooper.
Sure it might have had some significant failures that left me stranded
on several different northern highways, but we had worked through
those times and I never judged it. To me, the Wag had been a faithful
friend.
Of course, by the end of its reign, the Wag had only one working
headlight, no windshield wipers and no mirrors, the side mirror
having been deftly removed by a very harrowing close call on an
icy Okanagan ski hill road. The fabric on the ceiling had lost its
grip and hung in big droopy bubbles throughout the car.
Starting the car had become a drawn out process of gentle coaxing
that required extreme patience and a bit of luck. But in the end,
and this is still painful to admit, the Wag was done in not by any
of its own deficiencies, but purely because of my neglect.
We had decided to become a one-car family and there was no justification
for keeping my car insured, since my girlfriend's car was newer,
more efficient and less decrepit. So the Wag was parked in the back
alley alongside the garbage bins and the compost pile at the end
of October. As the winter rains descended with more than average
ferocity, I would occasionally peek out the back window and see
the Wag sitting proudly but forlorn and I would look away in shame.
By the following May, we were moving to a new place but, alas, my
trusty blue wagon could no longer move of its own volition. Rather
than try to get it fixed, I had it towed to our new place. There
it sat, abandoned again, in the driveway, for so long that I'm embarrassed
to admit it.
Then mold started to sprout on the steering wheel and dashboard,
while the spot where the spare tire sat had accumulated a scummy
pond of water that had developed its own ecosystem. But none of
this was the reason why I eventually got rid of the Wag. What drove
me to finally say goodbye to my car was the fact that it got evicted
from its spot in the driveway by my roommate's newly uninsured VW
van. It was time for a new wreck to shelter the moss in the driveway.
Around the same time, I heard about the Kidney Foundation's Kidney
Car Program and I saw a positive ending to a sad tale. The Kidney
Car Program would come and tow away your car, free of charge, and
present you with a charitable donation receipt that could be used
for tax deduction purposes. The Kidney Foundation, through the program,
would salvage what parts it could and recycle the rest, selling
it all for a profit that would be divided between the foundation
and the company running the salvage operation. According to the
Web site, for every ton of steel recycled, 2,500 pounds of iron
ore, 1,400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone are saved;
not to mention the benefit of removing emission-spouting old beaters
off of our already too crowded streets.
The fact that my dead wagon was going to help an important foundation
made me feel almost virtuous for having held on to it for so long.
It seemed like a fitting way for the Wag to end its days, as an
organ donor to other cars in need. I'd like to think the Wag would
have wanted it this way.
All that the Kidney Car Program requires is that you own the vehicle
and that it is relatively whole. The Kidney Car Program operates
in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and
Quebec. For more information about the program, call the Kidney
Car Hotline in your area:
Lower Mainland: 604-408-2277
Victoria: 250-658-2799
Nanaimo: 250-741-0607
Kelowna: 250-769-2289
Jamie Bonham is a freelance writer living in Vancouver.
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