Cars

When the movie "Cars" came out several years ago, it became an instant sensation with the kids. There were plenty of parents who thought it was quite entertaining too, so if the kids wanted to "replay" it for the "umteenth" time, it met with few objections. Lightning McQueen and his "motorcade" of friends provided us with a very clever story line about life on route 66. Over the years, the family has had its own "fleet" of cars with names and personalities, just like in the movie, so let me introduce you to the cast.

The first car that I remember was our pale green Ford Fairlane station wagon with its wood side panels and rear sliding windows. I remember once, being out on errands with my Mother and younger brothers, and an older gentleman stopped my Mother to warn her of the dangers of a dragging rope out the side window. She, of course, was unaware of the behavior that lurked from behind. As I recall, the floor had rusted through the rear foot well, so we could watch the road pass which provided additional entertainment for the passengers.

Our second family car was a pale blue Ford Galaxie sedan with those huge fins. I think it was a '58 or '59. What I remember about the Galaxie was that it was the car my Mother was driving when she had an accident while driving through one of those famous rotaries in Massachusetts on her way home from Grandma's. Evidently, a semi entered the traffic circle at the same time and quite literally cut her off, or at least the front end of the car that is.

The long list of cars included another Ford Fairlane wagon that had the dubious distinction of being the car with "flat tires". On a trip to Canada, this noble beast had the misfortune of having 4 flat tires, enough for any car. However, in those days, there were no steel belted radials, so what would you expect anyway? Additionally, while preparing for the 1964 trip to Encampment, this car was the site of the "chop heard round the world". Chasmo dropped the split middle seat onto Shamus' foot nearly severing his big toe. My reaction, "Charlie cut Jimmy's toe off", and fortunately, that was an overestimate. However, near misses weren't uncommon for the brothers and me.

After the Ford series, my parents moved on to Catalinas from Pontiac. These cars took us across the US and Canada on the family trips, which were trips of a lifetime for all of us. Then we moved in to the "Chevrolet" era with the Suburban and then the gray van, also known as "Johnny's Truck". Dad ended his "wagon train" career with the Chevy Nova wagon whose legacy ended as a hand me down.

The Galaxie sedan was retired and replaced by the Ford Falcon. The Falcon could be filled up for a mere $3, and also made the cross country trip in 1967. During that trip, the "Falconistas" would wave the white handkerchief to signal that it was time to get out the walkie talkies to confer on plans with the others in the mother ship. The Ford Torino replaced the Falcon, and its license plate, MD 3291, made it a walking advertisement for Dad's "Black Bag". Dad was always keeping a close watch over this for obvious reasons.

The chapter on the Fords closed with the introduction to the AMC Matador. What's a Matador, you say? That was the tag line from their ads anyway. That car survived at least 4 drivers, and that's no bull. The AMC chapter was very brief, because it was replaced by the Pontiac Lemans and ultimately the Chevy Nova. This car served Chasmo as his transportation to Lechmere for several years before it died painlessly on Route 93 while driving back to Malden Hospital in the fall of 1985.

Over the years, there were some personal vehicles that need mentioning. The 2 Pontiac Firebirds, Nellie Belle I and II lead that distinguished list. But the car that was known as the "Libido" Gremlin still ranks first in its class academically. This car made it to Graduate School at Clemson, then it went on to study South of the border in Guadalajara for medical school, and finally completed its training at the Malden Hospital. Because of a little thing known as "emission control standards" it finally failed its last test which led to a "premature" end. Since it didn't pass inspection, the Gremlin had to be retired. The only fitting way to pull the plug on "Libido" was to have a party, which we did. In fact, "Libido" quite literally tipped its hat on the final ride, as we cut the roof off to make it our first convertible.

So, to the cast of "characters" in this " drivin' " movie who collectively provided us with more than a million miles of "roadside assistance" and vehicular pleasure, thanks!