1995 Mercury Sable: A Reflection
by Keith "The Leg" Hannon

You can hear his distinct voice. His commanding presence. The smell of a freshly lit cigarette mixed with the scent of a dry martini. Yes, it's Frank Sinatra. He's singing his anthem "My Way". Except he's not singing it about himself. He's singing it to my mercury sable, 95'. The Sable has just reached 100,000 miles, a plateu even "old blue eyes" is impressed with. I sit and watch and he serenades my beloved car. I release a few tears of joy that trickle down my cheek and onto my t-bone steak. "It's ok", I say, "it could use the salt"...

A car is special. A car is a symbol of who we are and what we stand for. Most people, especially my age, don't drive a car into the 100,000 miles club. My age group has a way of disposing of cars due to carless, reckless driving, or because when a car reaches a certain age, they give up on it. It gets sold to a scrap yard or traded in for something "better". Well my friends, my Mercury Sable is still with me. Together we've shared some good times and some bad. I wasn't sure how to celebrate this momentus occasion, so I thought I would write about my chariot and reflect on some of times we've shared and the places we've gone....

I sat in my desk chair in the small confines of my Terrace 6 single. It was sophomore year and my frustrations of having no transportation was reaching a boiling point. Dad kept saying he was working on it and I believed him. But I have enough trouble getting dad's approval on sneakers, picking out a car could last a decade. I was having a little trouble getting over the death of my previous car that has carried me through the glory days of high school. Affectionately known as "The Bills Mobile", the 1987 Plymouth Bonneville has a sacred place in my heart. Known for it's giant Buffalo Bills helmet sticker on the hood of the car, she roamed the streets of Johnson City without a care in the world. Then all of a sudden...she was gone. But then, I got the phone call... dad had found me a car.

I was happy. But the car was home and I was at school. I would have to wait a few weeks until after Thanksgiving to get my first look at my new ride. When I first laid eyes on her I was skeptical. Like the first girl that likes you in high school. But like that girl, I looked at the car and realized I didn't have any other options. I was afraid to trust Sable at first. I kept thinking somewhere, some how, The Bills Mobile was watching, weeping from the betrayel. I took Sable out for a spin. It was a smooth ride, the drivers seat had electric adjustments for my comfort. The seats were soft, there were cup holders and the cruise control was easy to operate. I was on my way. Little did I know how far she would take me...

The Sable has successully penetrated the borders of four states (NY, PA, NJ, and CA) and two countries (USA and Canada). She went cross country if you count riding on the back of a truck from NY to CA. It should at least be honorable mention considering all the bugs that attached themselves to her hull en route to the west coast. Sable is known for her forrest green paint job and crooked Ithaca College window sticker that I put there my sophomore year of college. I knew it was crooked, but I thought if I took it off it would lose its stick. In the end, the slanted sticker just added character to an automobile that would was far from typical. A unique ride that would find itself in unique circumstances....

(The following are stories that were told back to me and remembered by myself if you have more please feel free to post them as comments....)

December 2003, Ithaca Vs. RPI NCAA Regional Football Playoffs
(reminded by Chad and Zach)
The weather didn't look good and we wouldn't have it any other way. Everyone told us not to go, so we wanted to go even more. Ithaca to Albany, usually a simple ride but this weekend it would be far from it. The ride up was fine, no problems. Friday night before the game we came out of the bar and the snow was falling. The storm had arrived. We hoped it would taper off... it didn't. We awoke with about a foot + on the Sable. I started the engine and began brushing her off. It's almost as if she shook most the snow off herself, as if to say "this is a small flury, let's go". As we approached the RPI campus we saw the field was on top of a steep hill. Two cars were trying to get up the hill, but it was no use, they weren't gonna make it. The hill laughed at them as they tried, relentlessly, to climb the snow covered mountain. Eventually they gave up.

Seated in the car with me were friends Josh, Chad and Zach. "We're not going to make it up that hill" one of them said. "Nonsense" I said. I shifted the automatic transmission into 2, and began the climb. Sable never waivered. As the steady snow continued to pelt the green exterior, Sable thrusted forward. Ladies and gentlemen, she took that hill. Some say Sable smiled with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth as she did so. The way home was worse. The snow didn't stop through the whole game. The thruway was trecherous, some thought we should stay over night. The Sable, being the lady that she is, never stayed the night somewhere she wasn't familar with. At the end of the night, she went home. I wasn't one to argue. While other cars tip toed along the highway, the sable cut through the storm like a Ginsu knife into a tin can. Hours later we pulled into Ithaca, unscathed. No one said a word, we just sat there in silence. Words couldn't describe what we all had witnessed. For one day, a Chicago made automobile had reached a level of immortality. I got out of the car, petted the hood, and just said "thank you". Ithaca lost that game in heartbreaking fashion, but it didn't matter. After riding home in Sable, through the nor-easter, we knew we were all winners. For we had been the co-pilots for one of the greatest moments in the short history of the car. Some where, Henry Ford was smiling....

John Cook, A Shaky Rookie
(reminded by John Cook)
John Cook didn't have much experience in the Sable. I was behind the wheel and Pete and CO were in the back. Pete and CO knew the Sable well. We were headed to the movies and listening, believe it or not, to Billy Joel. The song was "Pressure" and knowing John was a big fan of the "air keyboard" I didn't want to disappoint him during the keyboard solo. I began playing an imaginary keyboard as we were exiting route 13 en route to the Pyramid Mall. Playing air-keyboard left the wheel unatteneded and Sable drifted towards the gaurdrail. What happened next can best be described as a graceful collision. Sable made contact with the gaurdrail, I grabbed the wheel, and used the momentum of the ricochet to glide back into the road. Pete, Chris and I sat as if nothing happened, no mentioned of the incident was made. John was hysterical. He was filled with panick at what had taken place. He was more alarmed that the three of us were showing no concern over the incident. I told him "John, it's the Sable, nothing to worry about". He didn't understand, but he soon would because he was driving behind us on RPI trip..

Matt Z and Keith Hit the Road
(reminded by Matt Z)
It was late at night, Matt and I were tired. I was driving him home when a notion hit us. Why should we be tied down by our small town night life. Surely there was more we could do. After all, all we had to do was drive right? Well where should we go? First I said, "what about Buffalo?" Not a bad idea, I knew people there and it was only about 3.5 hours away. "What about NYC" Matt said. Hmmm, very insteresting. It's much bigger and more exciting than Buffalo. But we didn't really have any contacts there. Well, we figured that would work itself out. We pulled into the Hess gas station for a couple coffee's and a breakfast sandwich or two. The sable headed out of JC on to route 17 east. About 7 minutes later we decided we were still hungry. I exited on to Front Street and pulled into the "Spot" diner. We had a nice meal and went home. But I'll never forget that adreniline rush of thinking we were really heading out of town at 230 am.... A great bonding moment for the two of us..

Sweaty, Dirty, Sable
(reminded by Bill Murray)
We started a nice little tradition at IC. Once november hit, all my friends and I would play football in the campus quad every friday after class. The weather was usually inclimate and the ground conditions sloppy. That's what made us love it. Guys being guys playing football, giving all the effort we had for something that has no significance other than our own pride. When the game was over, the Sable would be the first shelter from the harsh elements. She always heated up the interior of the car in a timely fashion. We would sit, huddle together, muddy, sweaty, cold and tired, talking about the best and worst of what had just gone down. The best part was, it was Friday and we had nothing but the night in front of us and even though we may have been enemies on the field, we were never better friends than we were on Friday nights, drink in hand...

Sable Does the 'port
(reminded by Steve White)
Steve and I sped away from then friend Justin's house. We were headed to Brockport. I would be visiting my friends melissa and Bill, he would be meeting up friends as well. Sable sped along the 90 thruway as we were anxious for the night to begin. We pulled into the Brockport campus and walked into the hockey game where we would be meeting friends. Only to see Brockport was playing Cortland...'nough said... Steve and I got seperated that night. But the next morning I got a phone call and Steve wanted to be picked up in a hurry. I rolled in front of the dorm he had found his way to the previous night. I don't think the Sable ever came to a stand still as Steve sprinted to the car and threw himself into the vehicle. He didn't look back and I didn't want to know why he didn't. Well yes I did, but that's another story....

There are a ton of Sable stories. Some fun, some sad, some intimate. Whatever they may be I encourage you to share them by posting COMMENTS. I made it so you dont' have to register to leave COMMENTS. So it's very easy. Sable was and still is, a great car. I have gone many places and seen many things, and all safely, thanks to her. I hope to be able to afford a nice new car in the near future, but even when I do, I will do my best to keep her with me, even if it's just a piece....

Thank You Sable

"Sable isn't my car, it's my way of life" -Keith Hannon, a line that can't be confirmed he ever said, but very well may have....