Cars and the good old days, I think!

A couple weeks ago Kristy and I decided to trade our old Cadillac off in our ongoing quest to keep at least one of the family vehicles around the same year as the mean average age of our combined grand-children, that way, if there turns out to be a 'digital' feature on the vehicle that we may not fully understand how to operate, such as the radio, we have a pretty fair supply of 'toddlers' around who can give us assistance. I'm not sure at what point in my life I apparently lost all of my 'mechanical' abilities, but I DO know that, by looking under the hood of the Mercury, they are definitely gone. Growing up in a gas station and having a mechanic for a dad, I knew a fair amount about cars and engines when I was a kid, and even to this day I can be reasonably certain that I cost dad a lot of money on some of my 'botched' tune-ups and engine overhauls that I was regularly engaged in during my early years, which started just before 'kindergarten'. I'm not sure I'm even qualified to change the oil in today's newer vehicles, much less replace a new 'serpentine' belt. There's been bales of technological advances in cars since I got my first one, which was a 1952 Chevrolet that my grandpa Guy gave to my dad when he retired, and if you carried a screwdriver, 1/2" wrench, spare fan belt, and an extra set of points in the glove box, you were well prepared to venture just about anywhere within the Lebanon city limits, even though grandpa was able to drive it a minimum of 40 miles per day with never any trouble. My second "car" which was a 65 International pickup truck, complete with a 30 gallon 'oil drum' gas tank standing up in the front of the box for the sake of "class", was every bit as dependable as the Chevy, but dad took it away from me because of "safety" issues. Also maybe because me and Jeff Dinkel was 'hot-rodding' around in it after football practice and a ditch suddenly jumped out in front of us with no prior warning whatsoever, causing Jeff to put his nose through the windshield, and then consequentially become mad at ME, as if it were MY fault! Jeff Dinkel was sort of 'funny' in that way. But anyway, after my friend Jeff decided to "total" my truck by putting his face through the most valuable part of it, I was forced to find 'new' wheels, which came in the form of a 1970 Plymouth "Fury", which had been owned by Phil Rorabaugh, who had picked it up at a police auction in Denver Colorado. Looking back, the very fact that my dad and many of the elders of the Lebanon community would let me even HAVE a car like this should be proof enough of an 'adult-sponsored' attempt to "take me out of the picture"! The Plymouth was armed with a 383 cubic inch "Police Interceptor" engine, and a speedometer that went clear up to 140 mph, as well as the ability to go clear on around to 'zero' again from the 'bottom' side', if you get my drift. What it turns out that the Plymouth didn't have though, was the ability to actually STOP from going that fast in a distance of say, whatever it is from Bernard Kuhlman's driveway to the quaint little park that is the Geographical center of the 48 continental states, at least not without the help of several "randomly" picked guard-rail posts, some trees, trash cans, and a concrete picnic table. Once again, I had friends with me, Bob Dietz, Mark Younger, and Barton Pilcher, all of whom were unhurt, but did appear to be 'visibly shaken', especially Bob, who was sitting in the front seat, and apparently had some sort of 'nervous disorder' concerning Chrysler engines coming back uninvited into the passenger compartment, but who knows? As I recall, Bob was sort of 'funny' in that way. As time went on, I got to the point where I could wreck cars all by myself, showing complete defiance toward the friends who would no longer ride with me, which I think was a HUGE step for me, as most of my friends were considered 'rank amateurs', many of whom had never even been in a wreck. It seems that all the 'newer' models of cars have taken the necessary precautions with which to stifle the fears of people who ride with guys like me by including "sissy" things such as seat belts and air bags for safety features, even though they have replaced many of the formerly 'steel' parts with plastic. I can only assume that in the not too distant future there will be airbags on the little "make-up" mirrors behind the sun visors on the passenger side of the car, in order to protect against such a tragedy as breaking an eyelash during a fender-bender, but who knows? I DO know that this mirror exists though, because my wife won't let me drive the car, and I spend a fair amount of time in the 'passenger' seat. Kristy's sort of 'funny' in that way! Have a great week Friends!