Santa and Old Cars

First of all, Navy just beat Army. Go Navy!

A couple of things got me to thinking today. Not an easy chore, but it happens sometimes. The first thing was that I was to be Santa to help Dr. Amber raise some money for her mobile spay and neuter clinic. She goes to a Pet Smart each weekend for pet adoption and the store sponsors the event. Amber’s organization will get $5 for each picture purchased. Now I’m not crazy about being Santa, but it helps her, so I consented. I imagine it will be me posing with people’s pets more than it will be with kids. So I can live with it – for Amber. But I was thinking about what it would be like to be a Santa. Mostly I think it will be hot in the beard and get up.

The thing about it is I drive like a bat out of hell. So on the way over to the pet store I got a ticked for doing 85 in a 55. Yeah, I know. But that’s the way I drive. If I go the speed limit my mind wanders. I feel I am a safer driver when I am aware of what is around me and speeding does it for me. I know the law, I know the penalty. I accept it. It’s just that the chance of getting caught is slim to none. But it does happen, and I got caught. That’s not what bothers me, though.

As I was pulling away from getting my speeding ticket, Dr. Amber called and said that the store already had a Santa for today. Just, great! Due to a communication gap the store already had someone to come so I wasn’t needed. All that fun for nothing. I’ll get to go back tomorrow and the next three weekends, though. Yippee! Bah Humbug!

The other thing that got me to thinking was on the way home I got behind a 64’ Chevrolet Impala. I had one when I got out of the Navy…dark green and really sexy. The first car I ever drove was my brother’s 55’ Chevy BelAir… blue and white. The first car I ever owned I paid $175 for while I was in the Navy. It was a 1957 Studebaker Hawk hard top (no post) and I drove the wheels off it. I sold it to get enough money to come home from California. I stayed out there three months after I was discarded and had a job lined up with PacBell. But a girl I had a crush on back home connived with my mother (mom’s idea) to get me back. The plan worked but the relationship didn’t. That's fodder for another blog. But what seeing the 64’ Impala did was it got me to thinking about how the car industry uses to be.

I use to look forward to every September because that was when the new model cars came out. It was exciting to see what the new Ford’s, Chevrolet’s and the other models would look like. The cars had personalities. They were strong and they were fast. Some had squared shapes and others were more curved. The tail lights were different and the front grills were neat. You worked on cars with wrenches, screwdrivers and matchbook covers (to set the point gap) and you could tune the car by sound. No computers need, thank you very much. Now cars are cookie cutter similar. Foreign and domestic. The newest thing is that the car will parallel park for you. If you have a problem the mechanic will just plug it into a computer and tell you what’s wrong with the car, how much you weigh and who your first love was.

I miss the fun of being able to compare simple features and wondering what the next year model will look like. Will they have air-conditioning and power steering? Will the gear shift be on the column or on the floor? Will there be room under the dash for my 8-track? Will there be enough room to lay her down in the front seat or do we still have to go to the back seat (never mind that motel rooms cost $7 per night)? And what is FM?

Just remembering.