Talking about My Ride - Fun Monday

Tiggerlane, the Neophyte Blogger is this week's Fun Monday hostess. Here is what Tiggerlane is requesting, "I wanna see your CAR! It can be your current car, the first car you ever had, maybe your first new car with that new-car smell, a car you wrecked once, or even the dream car you would drive - given all the money in the world! Oh - and if you have a truck, SUV, lawnmower, whatever the local authorities allow you to drive, let's see it!"

Although these cars are now long gone, I am highlighting three cars. The first is my parents 1957 Chevy; it was a beautiful machine, a turquoise car with a cream-colored top. This was my parent's second car, but this was their first brand new car. The lovely student nurse on the front porch is my sister, Margaret.

After two years, the transmission in the '57 Chevy broke so my parents traded this dream car for an ugly 1959 yellow and putrid green Chevy with teardrop taillights. The '59 car is important to me because this is the car that I learned to drive. Learning to drive this monster was not easy especially without power-steering. Moreover, if you look closely, those fins are similar to airplane wings, and in a storm or on ice, the car seemed as if it was going to take off like a jet plane.

Finally, this is my 1970 green Gremlin, or I should say my Big Bad Green Gremlin. That was the actual name of the car color. Unfortunately, in this old photograph, you cannot see how Big and Bad the green really was. The racy-looking green car did have some drawbacks, one of which was the sporty-looking black vinyl interior. Coupled with no air-conditioning, black is a poor color choice for a car's interior. Imagine riding home from a vacation in Chicago rush hour traffic with a two-year-old and no air conditioning. Whew, way too hot, a trip like that gives real meaning to the concept of road rage.

This car is special to me because this is my first car. I paid cash, $2,000. When Daddy D and I bought this car, we traded in a big 1962 Oldsmobile that had been a gift from his grandfather.

The country was in an energy crisis so we traded in our gas guzzling car for a smaller more fuel efficient car, or at least, that was our plan. Unfortunately, none of these three cars ran very well. When I hear the expression, "they don't make things like they used to." I am thinking if we are talking about cars that is a good thing.

In this picture, I am holding our first born son, who is not quite 2 months old. To see the rides of other Fun Monday participants visit Tiggerlane.