Cars I Have Known and Loved
After I left and divorced the bad boy and my children and I had found a place to live, we needed a car and money was in very short supply. For some time we relied on our Radio Flyer (old post) but eventually life and work required transportation with a motor. We ended up with a beaten up, old, black, VW beetle that ran, it seemed, on two cylinders. It did pretty good for about a month but then refused to start. As anyone who has ever owned one of those old bugs knows, they are rather easy to jump start, two mph usually does it. So we resorted to parking on hills whenever possible and when we could not...well, the kids pushed and I jumped it. I know what that sounds like in toady's world, but times were different then and we had few choices. And, we thought it was a hoot.
Oddly enough, that old wreck carried us around for quite sometime. We owned another one just like it in another place and time and it ran quite well but had a faulty heater. We carried army blankets and a spatula to scrape the inside of the windows when they frosted, and on very cold days we used candles on the open glove box door to warm the interior before we embarked on the days journeys.
Then there was the old Nash Rambler wagon (remember those?) which needed a spray of ether in the carburetor to get it going...and next, the VW wagon. The VW Wagon was memorable because, as we were tooling along one day, the battery fell through a hole in the floor. Miraculously, it didn't break or disconnect (we weren't going very fast at the time) and we managed to save it by placing it on a couple of two by sixes. And on and on we went.
Never did we feel that we were missing anything, to us it was an adventure and the norm. We did the best we could with what we had and found fun at every turn. We still do.
posted by Pam at 1:33 PM
10 Comments:
I'm loving these stories!
It's about attitude. Two people have the same experiences; one is scarred for life, but the other learns about life.
Ah yes--the VW bugs and jump starting them. I have a whole story about that--maybe worthy of a future blog!
Thanks for the reminder.
They sure don't make such fun cars any more.
On the outside you're driving beat up cars and a wheelchair, but beneath beats the heart of a Porsche. Drive on, babe!
Pam this brought back memories of our first car. We were poor as church mice and an old farmer let my husband pull an old Chrysler with a push-button transmission out of an old chicken coop. You could see the road between the spaces in the floor boards. I used a compact mirror to scrape ice off the windshield and permanently scratched the glass. Funny - we'll remember these cars forever. Your picture feels like a memory - distant shadows of happy times.
Oh, I do love these old broken down cars who rely on all of our ingenuity to keep them moving. Life lessons here, and a wonderful spirit. Thanks, Pam. You are just precious!
What great stories to share with your grandkids :) XXOO
Oh, I remember a few cars like that in the past. I bought an old '65 Mustang convertible and I loved that car into oblivion! It had a horrid engine and was always causing problems but I wouldn't have missed owning it for anything.
Peace,
~chani
As AC says, it's all about attitude. It's not in having what you want, so much as wanting what you have. You've said it so well. Thank you.
Lately I've been feeling "my age" and I needed a post like yours to remind me of the happy-go-lucky days of yore. Lightening up on life makes it so much easier.
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