It's not quite over yet.

I've got a car that's mine alone that me and the finance company own. -- 'Lord, Mr. Ford' Jerry Reed 1973

But very soon the car will really be "mine alone."

This morning I called the bank through which I have my auto loan and asked what the amount of the final payment would be. Instead of the usual large sum, I was told that if I paid it off this Wednesday (which allows time for mail to get there) it'd come to... $80.22. Though I could never stay very far ahead of payments, I did get a month ahead a couple times and was never really behind and it must have helped some.

So this noon I wrote a letter and made out a check and addressed and stamped an envelope and now it's all in the mail. Now I wait for the bank to send me the title and whatever else signifies that the business is taken care of.

Oh, the car? A Corolla with just over 70k miles on it. I expect to be driving it a long time yet. I do not expect to be taking out another auto loan anytime soon.