And so we must part again. Economic obsolescence brings despair once again.
The joy, the inner peace, the relaxing comfort that comes with a familiar
trusted colleague slips away once more. The anxiety of starting over with a
new partner is facing me, again. The future is daunting.

My first partner was the Cadillac of beauties. Her shape was designed in the
age of the slide-rule. Slide-rules must have some majic in them. She could
run faster than most any of the young ones running around these days. We
took to each other right quick. She would do anything that I asked of her
and submitted graciously to every nuance of my hands. She made me look good
every day. I've heard it said that she could be cantankerous, but that just
isn't true. She was the gentlest love I could ever hope for.

The honeymoon never ended, but eventually my first partner slipped away,
courtesy of Big Corporation seducing Big Government. In an instant, I was on
the street, never to be with the 3-holed princess again. I still miss her.
She was my first and she is still my truest love, but with three mouths to
feed, she was getting too expensive to feed. With age working it's evil, she
required ever more maintenance. She just couldn't compete with the young
ones anymore. I hated to leave her, but I had no choice. I had to move on.
We didn't even get to say good-bye.

My next love was a Chevrolet when compared to the Caddilac. She wasn't as
elegant, and she wasn't as fast, but she fulfilled her duties without
complaint. She would embarrass me on occassion, but she never failed me. She
had some unpleasant habits. She kept me warm in the summer but not in the
winter. She could emit some rather unpleasant odors if she wasn't serviced
properly. Some of her accessories were out of fashion. However these
short-comings were overlooked because she was dependable, reliable, and
trustworthy. We always accomplished what we set out to do.

She brought me many compliments, but she was getting expensive. A power much
higher than myself decided we had to seperate. She was getting too
expensive. The younger ones may cost more, but they don't eat as much.

We had one last fling together. We woke up on a Caribbean island to
beautiful sunrise. The flight to Florida was smooth. During the entire
flight, she never complained once. She simply did as she was asked, as she
has for many years. Then I said good-bye, managed to keep from letting a
tear show, and walked away. Good-bye, my good friend.

So now I face the future. My next partner has been selected. She is born to
a younger generation. I face her with scepticism. She may turn out to be a
good partner, but I doubt she will have the romance of my past loves. I'm
told that she will do what she is asked, as long as I keep my hands off her.
Just make the mortgage payments on her and she will fufill her obligations,
but forget about carressing her. My heart aches.

D. (B-727, MD-80, and now a f**king computer with wings)