I'm sort of an artist, so old projects must sometimes make way for new ones and I'm a bit like Enzo Ferrari (though not
quite as unsentimental) in that, when asked which Ferrari was his favorite, he replied, "The next one." At first completion, I can't imagine parting with something, but it will eventually be surpassed by enthusiasm for a new idea and it makes me happy if I can give it to someone who sees it with a fresh enthusiasm for it like I once had. I also like that stuff I create can be appreciated by others and that small part of me is out in the world and may outlast this mortal body (I will never have kids, so this is my proxy). I make things because I have to, not to make money, so while I wouldn't object to someone who loved it paying for it, I'd rather it go for free to someone who couldn't afford it and would love it. After all, the thing about our creations is that they are ours and cannot be bought. It's kind of a cheap luxury, things like custom bikes—they stand out like the uppity stuff (or more so), but there's only one and I think there's something much cooler and more interesting in that than something anyone can buy with enough presidential portraits. As for someone having it who didn't create it, my hope is that they could be inspired or they could at least have something that makes them feel special—having something no one else has. Having grown up without a lot of money (but not quite poor), I have an understanding of the psychological importance of such things. When I was in high school, I drove this thing:
You can't see the more interesting stuff, like the crosshairs on the hood and such, but I would literally be in traffic with exotics and nice muscle cars and they would be completely ignored for this $500 clunker with $50 in paint and stickers and such. I had gangsters in Detroit give me the lip of approval and girls (most really attractive!) approach me while my friends in said muscle cars got nowhere (but they could get there much faster!). And it was dirt cheap to own and worry free.
Having to recently junk Duchess (a different Subaru wagon) without time to find someone to take it for free (and with so many valuable parts, including a closed-deck EJ22 turbo engine) is the only time in a long time that I have been heartbroken over a machine. I thought I'd maybe have that car until I died (maybe even died IN it), but nature wanted to return it to the earth (rusted even while being in the garage). My other cars were just cars and I felt nothing moving on. We'll see if I get a bit down when it's time for the Focus ST to go.