History of Cars

I was coming home Tuesday night when I spotted an old car on the side of the road. It's amazing how memories can suddenly come flooding back at the sight of an old El Camino. My Dad drove one for years when I was young. I remember being dropped off to first grade in that pea-green truck (car/truck?) with grey bond-o on the sides.

My parents had some other winners, too. I loved the big green-and-white Plymouth van with blue and black astro turf in the back. The 'PLY' was missing from the back, so we lovingly referred to it as the 'Mouth' van. I thought this was one great vehicle. It was a bit disappointing to me that the sink in the back never worked, though.

Probably my fondest memory of a car my parents had when I was a child was the little maroon Pinto. This was the coolest car. I could lay in the back under the enormous window and listen to Air Supply while my Mom drove. Ahh. Good times.

There were more ugly cars in between, but the one that is freshest was the banana-yellow Plymouth Reliant with poopy-brown vinyl interior that had a slipping transmission. This was the car I drove in my early high school years. I thought my parents were scheming to ruin my social life by buying this car, but it was the banana, or the bus. Everyone knows that the bus is the kiss of death, so I drove the 'K.

Now, I drive the largest vehicle on the street...perhaps in the whole neighborhood. But I'm really kindof glad for all the embarrassing cars in my history. You could say that I was well primed for this one.

And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.