Cars

I have not been one to be over fascinated by cars, but they do have their place and have played a significant role in the way we have lived in our lifetime.  About a year after I returned from my mission in Germany I purchased my fist car.  It was a used 1955 Wyllis. I paid $250 for it.  Yes, that's right.  It was in reasonably good shape and was the same color as the photo below.  Most of you have probably never heard of this brand, but that was long a go and the company didn't stay in business for very many years.  I thought it was kind of a cute car.  Unfortunately, I wrecked it about six months later.  And that was the end of my motorized transportation until I finished college.  I called it putting first things first and it certainly didn't hurt me to be a pedestrian during my college years.  It did kind of cramp my social life at the time, but then again I considered my social life to be a lower priority than my college education.

When I graduated from USU and took a job teaching in Twin Falls, Idaho I bought a 1961 Mercury.

I drove that for about a year while I was dating Iris.  It was not the best car I've ever seen, but it got me around for a while.  I was glad to have a car as it gave me a better chance with the girls.  Actually, I think Iris was the only girl who ever got in that car while a owned it.  She was a "hottie" and steamed up the windows sometimes.  What did I expect?  She was a Georgia Peach.  I loved her then and still do nearly fifty years later.

This car had been used and had  a lot of miles on it when I bought it just after I graduated from college.  It was a nice car and served its purpose for a little over a year.  The one I owned was blue and looked just like this one, just a little more wear and tare.

Just before we got married I bought a new Mercury Caliente, two door hardtop.  It was a cream color and looked just like the one pictured above.  This was a wonderful little car and we both enjoyed it.

Just couple of memories about this car.  Shortly after we were married and living in Twin Falls, Iris had to go to the grocery store for something.  When she came out of the store, some old lady was parked in front of her and didn't seem to want to get out of the way.  After waiting a few seconds (an hour to Iris), she shifted the car into reverse and hit the accelerator.  Dang, there was a steel light pole behind her.  She hadn't yet learned what rear view mirrors were for.  Our nice new car had a big "V" shape in the back bumper.  No one was hurt and we chalked it up to a lesson learned.  The car was soon repaired and was as good as new.  Another time we were driving down to Bear Lake from Twin Falls to visit my Dad and Mom.  I was tired and iris volunteered to drive.  Imagine that. I put the seat back and kind of dosed off.  A while later, near American Falls, I woke up.  I looked over at the speedometer.  It was showing 110 miles per hour.  She had it floor boarded.  I asked why she was going so fast.  Her classic reply.  "There is still a car ahead of us."  Fortunately she has learned to slow down and look in the rear view mirror over the years, even when I am under the wheel.  She always drives when we are in the car together, even if she is riding shotgun, or is in the back seat.  I finally learned to just take my place on the passenger side and enjoy the ride.  The world is more peaceful that way and besides she is a very good driver despite her early experiences under the wheel. 

I recently saw an article on the Internet where some ninety year old woman was finally stopped from driving her beloved Mercury Caliente after driving it 585,000 miles.  I should have hung on to that car. I'd have saved a lot of money and had a classy car all this time.  Instead we now drive "The Pimp Mobile" so dubbed by Philip.  Oh well, as important as cars and transportation can be, I doubt that they play a significant role in our character development.  It's still important to consider the things that matter most in life.