First True Love


He was a beauty. The sun glistened off the newly waxed white paint and a carbon fiber hood as a face lift. Reflections beamed off the dark tinted windows. He sat four inched off the ground, hugging the black tar roads as tight as possible with his white sparkling powder coated SI rims, clear corner lights that shined with hyper white bulbs, and a tattoo of a blue scented Hawaiian lei always hanging from the Broadway mirror. Oh, he was a beauty alright! My 1998 five speed manual, three door, LS Acura Integra hatchback known as my Teggie.


Teggie was pretty spoiled for the amount of doe I didn’t have but, work was put into him over time. First, all four original springs were taken out and two and a half coils were clipped off like toe nails. It was slammed! And it caught every eagle eye’s attention that mobbed the streets; at every red stop sign and changing lights. It took every corner and winding road like a dime. But, as sweet as he can be there were flaws of lying so low. Especially when it comes to any size speed bumps (XS, S, M, L, XL), dips in the neighborhood roads, pot holes throughout the city, and uneven railroads tracks. Techniques and swerving maneuver had to be perfected to overcome these obstacles. Brakes were used frequently. Usually slowing Teggie down to a complete stop. Then, hand over hand turning the steering wheel while angling Teggie to a 45 degree angle and slowly crawling at two to five MPH up and over these barriers. Making sure there’s no gashes in the front bumper, scratches on the exhaust, or leaving anything behind. These techniques made us popular. Anyone who was driving behind us was our number one fans. They cheer by honking their horns and waving their hands in the air with their middle finger saying “Hi!” That wasn’t a bother. All that matter was that Teggie was more arrow dynamic.


Outer cosmetic wasn’t the only thing Teggie had done. Increasing horse power was completed by replacing the stalk air filter with a shiny black, blue, and silver INJEN Technology cold air intake. A new GReddy stainless steel headers and a hand me down metallic blue DC strut bar for Teggie’s stability. Oh yeah, a loud roaring ferocious beast he was and a fast one too! Teggie not only have a mean engine but a blasting stereo system as well. Connected to a removable red and blue flashing JVC stereo deck were the stalk speakers and tweeters. They had long blue and red wires hooked up to an amplifier and a 12 inch Alpine subwoofer box. Boom…Boom…Boom… They system rocked harder than the Rise Against concert at the E Center. The base thump was brutal. So brutal that it rattled both the windows on the doors, readjusted the Broadway mirror to a slant, and vibrated the side view mirrors to no reflection. Teggie was perfect and ready for show and tell!


On warm summer night’s rituals were held every weekend down in the secluded factories of Salt Lake City. Supped up cars from Honda's, Mitsubishi's, Nissan's, Toyota's, Subaru’s, and all types of vehicles were parked diagonally in a single file line against the curb. As crowds of people of all gender, age, and color scattered along the streets gawking as we lined up neck to neck with another Acura. In front of us was a girl with hair pulled back in a ponytail, short shorts, and a shimmering tank top. Engines are revving, tires are burning, and clouds of smoke filled the air. While the girl throws both her hands over her head, then out to her sides, finally she bends her knees touching both them hands down to the ground. Tires are screeching and nothing was heard for the next quarter mile until we had the windows rolled down. The audience was whistling, hooting, and talking among themselves about our great performance.


Teggie and I participated in several exciting events and performances. But, a life changing predicament occurred on a crisp fall night after a high scoring game of bowling. The roads were clearer than we’ve ever seen, not a soul insight as we traveled home on I-15 freeway connecting onto a ramp to I-215. Remembering how uneven the pavement was at the end of the turn gives me chills down my spine because that’s when everything lost control. Spinning round and round making two full 360 degree turns; crossing over five lanes on the freeway. BAM! Colliding the passenger side straight into the cement barrier. My hands were clenched tightly around the gray steering wheel while the white heavy airbags punched me in the face. Then like a boomerang we bounced back rotating in half a circle and crashed the front driver side into the same barrier. Teggie ate it hard and had broken bumpers, lights, inside panels, mirrors, and everything. He was a disaster and didn’t survive.


Teggie was wonderful. He took his life and spared mine. I’ll always remember how we rode the streets like we we’re invincible and how he spoke to me in his rumbling voice. So many remarkable life memories we had. He was my first true love.