After our wedding, Michael and I moved to Eugene, Oregon in a 1967 Oldsmobile 442. We crammed everything we owned inside or under a tarp on top of "Willie." The road ahead beckoned with adventure.
The 442 meant: four hundred cubic inches in the engine, four speed Hurst shifter and dual exhaust. It rolled with a throaty rummm rummm. Alloy wheels and tiger paw tires gripped the road. An electronic ignition of transistors sparked the engine; a new innovation at that time. The designers misplaced the device under the hood where it joined the body. In the Oregon rain it fried twice which also frizzled our student budget supplied by multiple jobs.
We moved to La Jolla and traded Willie for a Volvo. A year later I saw ol' Wil parked on the street. Did the new owner still find rice from our wedding and other dark bits from a hamster who got lost in the car for a week? I left a note but never received a response.
We dubbed the silver Volvo, Arrow, after watching a cartoon about a car bouncing along to the tune of, "Me and My Arrow." Poor thing suffered fuel injection issues and sun-damaged paint. Arrow transmogrified into a VW bus. We named it Murgatroyd. Its Cheshire cat grin and hibiscus curtains aroused nostalgia for Hawaii and hippie days in Eugene. The Murg transported us to dog shows around the country.
Recently during a morning run I noticed the creature pictured above. Could it be? Rust certainly hadn't rested in a salt air climate and inattention. I'll bet dog hairs linger on the carpet. If, by chance, it is the same vehicle, I hope they don't have to crawl underneath and pound it with a hammer when it doesn't start.
Cars transport and protect us. They develop their own scents after the new car aroma fades. Sounds only they make define their personalities. Each roars a failing and an endearment. Exteriors carry the tattoos of bumps and benders. Cars become part of the family and remain vital as a horse did to a cowboy crossing the prairie.
Creative Write: Recall your first car. What memories linger of relationships, scents and sounds? Describe your life by the cars that have roared through it.
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